Runaway
by Dark Entropy
Summary: Inuyasha finds Kagome sleeping in the streets after she runs away from home. He decides to take her in and let her stay.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, or I'd be famous. And I'd have a bit more money, too.**

Inuyasha finished off his beer, leaving some money on the bar. The bartender cleared his throat as Inuyasha headed out. "Don't worry," he said. "I'm not driving. I just live a couple blocks over." The bartender smiled and gave a small wave before turning to another customer.

Inuyasha reached the door and sighed. It was pouring outside, and lightning flashed in the distance. He pulled on his sweatshirt and stepped out into the rain. Two blocks in this and he'd be soaked straight through. Inuyasha almost wished he had a car.

His phone rang, and Inuyasha stepped into a store doorway out of the rain to answer it. "Hello? Oh, Miroku, what's up? No, I've got to work tomorrow, but I'm sure you'll be able to get in." Inuyasha squinted into the darkness. "Hey, I'll see you tomorrow, I gotta get home, and I don't want to get my phone wet. No, you ass, it's raining." He disconnected and switched the cell to flashlight, shining it into the corner.

"Oh, shit." There was a girl sleeping in the corner, huddled up against the side of the building. "Hey, are you alright?" He shook her shoulder lightly, but she didn't wake.

Inuyasha frowned. His morals wouldn't allow him to just sit back and let some girl sleep on the streets in the rain, but he had no clue what to do with her. Finally, he picked her up and started carrying her down the street.

It was only slightly difficult carrying a sleeping girl through the pouring rain, up three flights of stairs because the elevator was out and into his apartment. He laid her down on the bed in the spare bedroom and turned on the light.

She had long black hair pulled into a low ponytail and was wearing jeans, a black tank top and a dark blue flannel shirt. Inuyasha pulled off her sneakers and tucked her into the blankets. She still didn't wake up. Inuyasha started to wonder if she was sick or something.

He shut the door behind him as he left the room. He took a shower and went to bed, temporarily shoving the girl out of his head. In the morning, he woke up, left a note on the kitchen counter and went to work.

WMWMWMWMWMWMW

Kagome woke up in a bed. That was unusual, she was quite certain that she used to be curled up next to a convenience store. And now she was sitting here, in a comfortable bed, inside. Kagome looked out the window, not recognizing where she was. "Okay . . ."

In situations like these, (not that Kagome had this happen often) Kagome tried to make the best of things. She got up, quickly exploring the apartment. A note on the counter kindly asked her to wait until "I" got home. "Nice to know whose house this is," Kagome muttered.

It was only ten o'clock, so Kagome treated herself to a hot shower, on the rationale that the owner of the house wouldn't be home for a while yet. Then she sat down on the couch in front of the TV, reaching for the remote just as the door opened.

The man who walked in was tall, with shoulder length black hair tied into a ponytail. He was wearing black jeans and a T-shirt, and had three golden hoop earrings, one on one side, two on the other. "Ki- who are you?"

"You have purple eyes," Kagome noted. "They're pretty."

He smiled smoothly. "Why thank you. You're quite lovely yourself, if I do say so. What's your name?"

"Kagome."

The man sat beside her on the couch, placing one hand on her back. "Kagome. That is a lovely name. I am Miroku." Kagome's eyes widened as his hand slipped slowly downward and promptly slapped him across the face. "How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen." Miroku pulled away and sat next to her. Kagome turned the television on and started flipping through channels. "So . . . is this your place?"

"What? No, this is Inuyasha's house. I just wanted to come over, and he said I could." He turned to the young girl on the couch with him. "Why are you here?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I woke up here. So, what do you want to watch? Any preferences?"

Kagome and Miroku watched a couple of movies on TV, ate peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, and played a game of scrabble (which Kagome won). They were back to the TV when the door opened again at 5:30.

Kagome assumed this was Inuyasha, due to the way he walked around, hanging up his jacket and putting his keys on the counter. He was tall and thin, with short silver hair. He wore track pants and a long sleeved T-shirt with an obscure label across the front. He was extremely hot.

"You have gold eyes," Kagome said with shock. She leaned on the back of the couch to look at him closer. "That's cool." She caught Miroku's raised eyebrow and pouted. "What? I like people's eyes." Miroku leaned across her, reaching for the remote.

"Please, Kag, just let me watch it, just this once. I never get to see it."

"I'm not surprised. And watch your hands." Inuyasha sat down in an opposite chair, watching the two on his couch. "Pick something your age level," Kagome continued, "and I might let you watch it."

"Kag-babe, I will love you forever . . ."

"I am not watching Totally Spies."

"But they have cool gadgets."

"So does Batman."

"But Batman isn't a chick." Miroku gave up on the remote, walking over to the set and starting to change the channel. Kagome chucked the remote at his head and he stopped. "Inuyasha, Kagome's beating me."

"You're name's Kagome?" She nodded. "I'm Inuyasha. I think you know by now this is my house. Miroku didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"What do you think I am, Inuyasha? She's still a kid." Miroku rubbed the back of his head where the remote hit it. "Ooh, Charlie's Angels is on!"

Inuyasha turned back to Kagome. "No, I'm fine."

"I brought you here because I didn't want to just leave you in the rain. Why were you sleeping outside, anyway?"

"I ran away from home," Kagome answered matter of factly. "It was my birthday yesterday, so I spent my money and went out for dinner and had cake and everything. Then I didn't have any money to get a hotel room. The tip for the waitress took the last money I had."

Inuyasha sighed. "What will you do now?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I can find some work at one of the shops whenever I need cash, so I'll get enough for some food and a place to spend the night, and see what goes from there."

"Any intentions of going home?"

"No. I don't get along with my mother. She was going to ship me off to some boarding school for juvenile delinquents to get me out of the house, and if I go back, that's all that's going to happen to me."

Inuyasha nodded. "Miroku, did you eat dinner yet?"

"I got here at ten thirty. We had sandwiches for lunch, though."

"Call Sango for me, will you? See if she can stop by KFC or the Chinese place or something on her way here." Miroku pulled out his phone. Inuyasha walked off in the direction of the bedrooms.

"Hey, San, you're coming here, right? Do you want chicken or Chinese? Okay, then can you get Lo mein? Thanks, babe. Um . . . enough food for four, I guess. Yes. Four. No . . . I don't think I'm schizo . . . yeah, I'll see you later. Yup. Bye." Miroku tuned back to Kagome. "Charlie's Angels is cool too. They're spies and they're hot chicks."

Kagome smiled as Miroku climbed back onto the couch next to her. "Who's Sango? Does she have pretty eyes, too?"

"Prettiest ones around. She's my girlfriend. We hang out here a lot, mainly because Inuyasha's got the biggest TV and cable. I never got along with my parents, either. Didn't run away, but got into as much trouble as I could just to piss them off." Kagome blinked at the sudden topic change. "Hang on, I'll be right back. Need to ask Inuyasha something." He got up and headed out of the room. Kagome sighed. Miroku was nice. She wouldn't mind having him as a friend. Inuyasha wasn't bad either, but Miroku was fun to hang out with. It was too bad that she'd have to leave.

WMWMWMWMWMWMW

"So," Miroku said, throwing himself across Inuyasha's bed with flair. "Did you honestly just pick her off the street?"

"Last night when you called, I stepped out of the rain and she was sleeping there. Didn't wake up the whole way home. Just how hard did she slap you? When you first met, I mean."

"Ah. Pretty hard."

"That's what I thought."

"She's only sixteen." Inuyasha shrugged. "What are you going to do about her?"

"Well, I was thinking about letting her stay here, in the spare room, but I want Sango's opinion before I offer it to her."

Miroku jumped up. "Do it! You have to. This girl is the sweetest thing and you can't just let her stay in the streets. She's perfectly innocent, Yash. You have to let her stay here. I'm sure Sango will agree. I mean, I've hung out with her for hours now, and she hasn't even pissed me off once!"

"That doesn't take much."

"Yeah, well, I'm serious. I-" He stopped. "Sango's here!" Miroku jumped off the bed and ran into the other room just as Kagome was opening the door.

"You do have pretty eyes," she said. "Miroku was right for once."

"I heard that." Miroku shoved Kagome out of the way, grabbing the box of Chinese food and setting it on the table.

"Four, huh?" Sango said quietly. She had long black hair in a high ponytail, and brown eyes. She wore a light pink baby tee, a long denim skirt and ballet flats. She put her purse down on the couch, going over to talk to Inuyasha before the two of them sat down at the table and began to eat.

"Kagome, this is Sango. San, this is Kag." Miroku made the introductions, pointing at the girls in turn with his chopsticks, his mouth filled with noodles. They made polite remarks to each other, content to get back to their dinner. Kagome, who didn't usually get much to eat, ate more than anyone else, even though Miroku and Inuyasha both had three large helpings.

Miroku grabbed the first fortune cookie, cracking it open and pulling out the slip of paper. "Speak Chinese: door. Oh, wait, wrong side. Ah . . . your luck will get worse before it gets better. Nice."

Sango opened hers. "Beware men who think they know too much." She looked pointedly at Miroku, who didn't catch it.

"A chance encounter may prove fortuitous." Kagome smiled at her fortune. "Well, at least it's something good."

They turned to Inuyasha, who was quietly munching his cookie. "I didn't get one," he said. "The paper was blank." He passed it to Miroku.

"Well, that's not fair. You should sue." He began clearing up the empty boxes and plates. Kagome stood up as well and began to help him, rinsing off dishes and putting them into the dishwasher.

"Kagome." She jumped and turned towards Inuyasha. He was staring straight at her with his golden eyes, something Kagome found rather disconcerting. "How would you like to stay here?"

She blinked. "Stay . . . here? You mean, tonight? Or . . ."

"I mean as long as you want. I have an extra bedroom; you can stay here until whenever."

Miroku wrapped his arms around her. "Please, Kagamuffin. I want you to stay." Kagome slapped him lightly without even thinking about it. She was still staring into Inuyasha's eyes.

"You really mean I can stay here?" She bit her lip. Inuyasha nodded. "Um . . . okay." Inuyasha smiled slightly. Miroku picked her up off her feet and swung her around. "Kya! Miroku! What are you doing?"

"Yay! Kag gets to stay!" Kagome blushed slightly. "Happy day-late birthday!" He set her down on her feet.

Sango turned to Inuyasha. "I have to get going. I don't want Kohaku to wait up for me. What time do you have to go to work tomorrow?"

"Noon."

"I'll be here at eleven to pick up Kagome."

Kagome perked up, putting the little bit of left over food into the fridge. "Where are we going?"

"We're going out to get you some clothes. You might fit into some of my old stuff, but I don't know, so you'll have to try it on. You don't mind, do you?"

She smiled brightly. "Not at all."

"Good. Then I'll see you tomorrow. Bye." Kagome smiled. Yesterday she was sleeping out on the streets, today she had a place to stay and new friends, and tomorrow she'd have new clothes, too. Things were definitely looking up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: Maybe I do own Inuyasha . . . hang on let me check . . . no, no I don't.**

"Knock, knock." Kagome opened the door to her room and Sango came in. "Good morning, little runaway. Are you all ready to go?" Kagome nodded. "Great. We'll go to my place first, see if you can fit into anything there. And then we'll just go to the mall for anything else you need."

Their agenda laid out, the two girls headed out with a quick goodbye to Inuyasha as he got ready for work. "Where does Inuyasha work?" Kagome asked once they were in the car.

"Oh, he teaches kendo and fencing. The place does all kinds of weapons training: swords, martial arts, guns, archery. It's pretty cool, actually. Inuyasha's part owner of the school or something." She gave Kagome a sidelong glance. "What do you think of Inuyasha?"

"He's hot." She blushed. "Ano, I mean . . ." Sango laughed. "He seems very nice."

"He's alright. He gets moody sometimes, and he's pretty violent if you get him drunk, but other than that he's fine." She pulled up in front of a large apartment building. "Here we are."

The doorman held the door open for them as they entered. "Back again, Miss Taijiya?"

"Yes. Marc, this is my friend Kagome. I'm just showing her my apartment." The doorman bowed at her, wishing her a good afternoon. They went up a couple of flights in the elevator and down a brightly lit hallway to Sango's apartment.

"Nice place," Kagome said. "I like the way you decorated." Sango smiled at the compliment, leading her into a small room that was being used as a walk in closet. "Wow, you have a lot of clothes."

"I'm a fashion designer. I design and make most of my own clothes."

Kagome browsed through some of the hangers. "You're good."

Sango went to one long rack. "This is all stuff that doesn't fit me anymore. God, I've been keeping some of this since high school. Don't want to throw anything I've made away, you know?" She smiled. "Try anything you like on. If it fits, you can have it." She headed out the door. "I'll be in the living room. You have to model your choices for me, you know." She winked and went out, shutting the door after her.

A couple hours and several outfits later, Kagome and Sango headed back out of the building. Kagome wore one of the outfits that she loved: black pants that laced up the sides, a red off shoulder top and a wide ribbon belt. Marc smiled as they left again, understanding well the boxes of clothes they carried out with them.

"It's so sad," Sango said as they headed to the mall. "You fit into stuff that was too big for me when I was a high school freshman. You're too skinny; you realize that, don't you?" Kagome blushed slightly. "I'm just joking with you. You look good."

WMWMWMWMWMWMW

Inuyasha was home by the time the girls returned. He was shocked at the number of bags they carried in. "How much did you spend? And can you afford rent anymore?"

"Sales, Yash, are essential to shopping." Sango led him into the bathroom. She emptied one of the drawers in the cabinet and put a piece of tape across it, labeling the tape 'Kag's drawer.' "This drawer," Sango said, "is Kagome's. You're not allowed to go in it, understand? It's going to have all girl stuff in it."

"Girl stuff?" Inuyasha sighed. "Whatever."

Sango then pushed past him, going into Kagome's room to help her put her new clothes into the dresser. Inuyasha went back into the living room and sat down in front of the TV. He didn't even look up when the door opened and Miroku walked in.

"Hello, bestest friend. How was your day?"

"Eh? I had to work. You know how that is. Some stupid kid keeps pestering me to teach her, but I can't do it without parental consent."

"The kid won't bring her parents in?"

"Says she doesn't have any. She won't bring in a guardian at all. But she's gotta be under ten. I can't just hand her a weapon and say 'Here. Go play with large sharp pointy object.' This is like the fifth time the kid came in." Inuyasha ran one hand through his hair. "Sango's in Kagome's room. I swear they bought out half the mall."

Miroku ran off to go hang out with the girls. Inuyasha heard him complimenting Kagome on all of her new things. He had always wondered about Miroku's fashion sense, ever since the time he wore the purple dress for Halloween. Wait, no, it was a 'monk's robe.'

Miroku wore a dress. End of story.

Inuyasha stuck his head around Kagome's doorway. Miroku was poking through a small bag filled with bras, Kagome was beating him with a flip flop, and Sango was folding some of the new shirts.

"Ow! Kag, please, stop. I was ow only joking ow and I ow didn't mean it. Ow! And ow Inuyasha SAVE ME!" He threw himself in front of Inuyasha's feet. Kagome looked at him, ripped the bag out of his hands and kicked him (quite literally) out the door.

"Well," Inuyasha drawled, "I was going to see what you guys wanted to do for dinner, but I guess that will just have to wait."

Sango stuck her head out the doorway. "Pizza." She shut the door again.

"Pizza sounds good," Miroku muttered into the rug. Inuyasha sighed, helped his friend to his feet and went in search of the number for the pizza place.

WMWMWMWMWMWMW

"So, what do think?" Kagome asked tentatively.

Sango placed a couple hangers in the closet before she answered. "What do you mean?"

"I mean about me. What do you think about me staying here?"

"Well, to be honest, at first I was a little skeptical. A sixteen year old runaway living here? It's kind of awkward. But Miroku really seemed to like you. I mean, Miroku likes all girls, but he was different with you. He really likes you, as a friend. And I was willing to trust him on that. And now I've been hanging out with you, and getting to know you a bit more, and I think that we could be friends."

"I'd like that."

"So would I. I don't honestly know if I completely approve of the living situation, but there's no where else you can go, and I don't want to make you live out on the street. Therefore, I am more than willing to accept and encourage these circumstances."

Kagome smiled. "Good. I wouldn't want to impose on you guys, and you seem to be here a lot, so I'd be imposing on you just as much as Inuyasha."

Sango laughed. "Inuyasha couldn't care less if there were three people living here besides him. He isn't really all too observant, and he works almost all day."

"Where does Miroku work?"

"Ah. Well, he's currently out of work." She smiled wryly. "He used to be security at one of the banks in town, but he was fired for . . . ah . . . misplaced hands." The girls laughed.

"Stop talking about me and come eat your pizza!" Miroku's voice came through the door.

"Were you eavesdropping?"

"Maybe." He opened the door and stuck his smiling face in through the opening. "Would it upset you terribly if I was?" He wrapped one arm across Kagome's shoulders and led her out of the room. "You're going to sit next to me, right Kagberry?"

'Kagberry' laughed. "Okay." She smiled up at him. "How come I'm the only one with cute little nicknames?"

"Cause you're the only cute little one here." Sango whapped him smartly across the back of his head. Inuyasha looked up from his food and glowered at him. Kagome just laughed it off and reached for a slice.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha is . . . um . . . not mine?**

Kagome had been living with Inuyasha for nearly a month now. Weekdays were usually the same: he'd go to work, she'd hang around the house, sometimes Miroku would come over, and at night she'd cook dinner. Weekends they'd go out somewhere, like a movie or just out to dinner, the four of them.

Today, she expected, was going to be no different. She had heard Inuyasha leave at seven, so she planned on watching cartoons until noon, when she knew a good movie was going to be on. They were going to have chicken for dinner.

Kagome did not expect to be woken up. Especially not by children.

"Shh. Who is she? Is she sleeping? Why is she in our room? Does she live with Uncle Inu? Rin, can you see if she's awake?" Kagome sat up and the child hanging off the side of her bed screamed.

"Good morning. Who are you?"

One of the kids stood up. He had bright orange hair and a big grin. "I'm Shippou. This is Rin." Rin was a small girl, with straight black hair and wide eyes. "Why are you in Uncle Inu's house?"

"Oh, is Inuyasha your uncle?" The phone rang and Kagome climbed out of bed to go get it. "Hang on guys, I'll be right back." Shippou and Rin followed her out, anyway.

She picked up the phone on the third ring. "Hello? Oh, hi Inuyasha."

"Uncle Inu! Uncle Inu! Uncle Inu!"

Inuyasha waited a minute before answering. "Is that Shippou?"

"Yes." Kagome smiled. "I just met him this morning. He and Rin-chan woke me up."

"Is Sesshoumaru there?"

Kagome spun around, looking around the room. She spotted a man leaning against the wall. He was tall, with long silver hair and golden eyes. "Are you Sesshoumaru?" He nodded. Kagome held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you. You have pretty eyes. I'm Kagome." He shook the proffered hand. Kagome passed the phone to him with a smile. "Inuyasha wants to talk to you."

She took the kids and went back into her room to get dressed. Rin and Shippou looked away so that she could change out of her pajamas. "So why are you at Uncle Inu's house, Kagome?"

"I live here. I ran away from home and Inuyasha said that I could live with him. Why are you guys here?"

This time it was Rin that answered her. "We came to visit Uncle Inu." Her voice was quiet.

On impulse, Kagome ran over and hugged the two children. "You are both too cute." She brushed her hair and tied it back out of her face. "So is that your dad out there?"

Shippou and Rin nodded. Kagome smiled then, figuring that it would be best to actually say hello instead of just introducing herself. She headed towards the door, only to be stopped by Rin, with her arms up in the universal 'carry me' pose. She hefted Rin on her hip and Shippou climbed up onto her shoulders, holding round her neck. Thus encumbered, she worked her way out of her room to meet Sesshoumaru.

The man's eyes barely widened a fraction of an inch when he saw his children dangling off of Kagome, but he immediately stood up off the couch and removed Shippou from around her neck.

"No! I want Kagome to carry me!" Shippou struggled in his father's hold.

"It's alright, Shippou. Here, come sit with me on the couch." Kagome sat, patting the cushion next to her. The red haired child scampered up and sat with her, and Kagome turned her attention to their father.

"They say that you're their father." He didn't answer. "It's nice to meet you."

"Who are you?"

"She's Kagome, Dad." Shippou rolled his eyes. "We like Kagome. Rin talked to her, too." At this the elegant man in Inuyasha's living room raised an eyebrow. "Indeed," he said.

Kagome blushed slightly. "Yes, I'm sorry for not properly introducing myself before, but Inuyasha said that he wanted to talk to you before I got the chance." She opened her mouth to say more and the door opened, admitting Miroku.

"Hey, Kagilicious. How's life? And when did you get kids? And oh, it's you. Well, see you later!" With a wave he turned back for the door.

"Miroku!" He stopped, looking back at her innocently. "Kagilicious is a bit much, don't you think?"

"Kagorama?"

Kagome sighed. "Whatever. Are you leaving? Inuyasha should be home soon if you wanted to talk to him. He was getting out early today." Miroku shook his head, saying that he would just go visit Sango, instead.

Shippou jumped up and stood on the couch. "You're weird."

Miroku stared at him. He stared back. Sesshoumaru looked at Kagome, who smiled apologetically. Inuyasha walked in, taking in the scene. "Well, this is awkward."

Miroku huffed and walked out the door. "I'm leaving. Bye, Kagster." She blinked after him as the door slammed shut.

"So . . . Sesshoumaru, when did you get here?"

"A few minutes before you called. Who is she?"

"Kagome, this is my brother, Sesshoumaru. This is Kagome. She lives here." Inuyasha took off his jacket and threw his keys and cell phone on the counter.

Sesshoumaru seemed to freeze for a moment. "How old are you?" he asked Kagome.

"Sixteen."

"Inuyasha, you can't live with an underage girl."

Inuyasha sighed. "It's not illegal or anything, is it?"

Kagome leaned down to Rin, listening to something. "Inuyasha, do you have candy?"

"It's in the cupboard above the fridge."

"You've been holding out candy on me?"

"Where did she come from? Did you just pick her up off the streets?"

"Oh my god, you've been hiding chocolate? DARK chocolate?"

"What difference does it make to you? I said she could live here, and she's living here."

Sesshoumaru stalked towards his brother, on the verge of hitting him. Inuyasha glared at him, anger in every line of his body. They had stopped yelling at each other, were in fact hissing threats and complaints through their clenched jaws. Kagome took the two kids into her room and pulled out a puzzle. In a few minutes, Inuyasha came in and announced that they were leaving.

Kagome said goodbye to the kids, promising to see them again sometime. Sesshoumaru scooped up Rin and led Shippou out by the hand. He didn't say goodbye.

They were silent in the hallway, but once they got in the car, Shippou started crying. "Why are you mad at Kagome? Kagome didn't do anything."

"I'm not mad at Kagome."

"But you and Uncle Inu were yelling. I heard you. Kagome didn't do anything wrong."

"No, Inuyasha shouldn't let a girl her age live with him."

"Kagome ran away from home," Rin said softly.

Something clicked, causing Sesshoumaru to pause. "I didn't realize. I'll apologize to her later, but we're still going home now, and I'm not changing my mind no matter how much you cry."

Shippou sighed. "Okay, Dad." They drove away from the apartment in silence.

WMWMWMWMWMWMW

"So why did Miroku leave?"

"Shippou called him weird." Kagome stuffed another piece of chocolate in her mouth. "I still can't believe you've been hiding chocolate this whole time."

"Well, if I told you that I had it, it would have been gone weeks ago." He walked over and gave Kagome a hug. "I'm sorry, Kag."

"About the chocolate?"

"No, about Sesshoumaru. I had kinda figured he wouldn't approve."

Kagome smiled at him. "I didn't mind," she said. "His children are adorable. What does he do?"

"Hm?" Inuyasha released her and headed into the kitchen. "He's a detective. Ah . . . missing persons. What do we have for lunch?" Kagome made both of them turkey sandwiches. After a few minutes Miroku returned, sitting down next to Kagome and stealing some of her chips.

"Sorry, Kagaroo, but that man just creeps me out. I mean it. The fact that he has children is frightening."

Inuyasha glared at him over the table. "Sesshoumaru isn't that bad, you know. He was married, and you said that Kagura with children was a fine thing."

"That's because she already had one when I met her. Your brother didn't."

Kagome brushed Miroku's hand away from her chips. "Stop eating all my food. What happened to her?"

"Kagura had already been married. She had a daughter named Kanna from her first marriage. Then one day she and Kanna got into a car accident, and they died. Rin was three, I think, so Shippou was two. Rin hasn't spoken since, except to her father." Inuyasha looked up, catching the shocked expression on Kagome's face. "What's wrong?"

"That's terrible." She bit her lip, thinking. "But Rin talked to me." The two guys turned to her, speechless. "What?"

"That's very unusual." Inuyasha got up, clearing the table. "Rin doesn't talk to anyone."

WMWMWMWMWMW

Kagome had fallen asleep on the couch, so when there was a knock on the door, it woke her up. She climbed out of the blankets, smoothing down her hair as she did so. She pulled the door open. "Good morn . . . ing." Her eyes widened. "Sesshoumaru?"

He looked down at her, his face blank. "I would like to apologize."

WMWMWMWMWMW

AN: Well, that's chapter three . . . I think I'm going to alternate chapters between my two fics, but I don't know how well that's going to work. This one is just easier to write . . . ah well. Thank you to Jessica Lyn, The Evil Liar, Kyo sohmas girl, and UdUnNoMe for reviewing!

Oh, hey, if anyone has an idea for a cute nickname for Miroku to call Kagome, (you know all those weird things he says) just email it to me please!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: (Look closely, it's invisible.)

WMWMWMWMWMW

"I would like to apologize."

Kagome blinked at him. "For what?"

"For getting so worked up yesterday."

"But you weren't yelling at me."

If Sesshoumaru showed emotion, Kagome was sure he would have sighed and rolled his eyes. "I was yelling about you, though."

Kagome put her hands on her temples, closing her eyes. She still wasn't quite sure what was going on. She felt a light tug on the hem of her shirt and opened her eyes, her face lighting up when she caught sight of the big brown eyes staring up at her. "Rin-chan!"

"Rin and Shippou told Daddy why you were living with Uncle Inu, and he was sorry for getting mad that you were here." She put her arms out and Kagome obeyed, picking the little girl up and smiling at her.

"I really don't mind," she said, turning her smile on Sesshoumaru. Kagome caught sight of Shippou peeking around the doorframe and waved him over.

"Then could I ask you a favor?" Kagome nodded. "The babysitter was sick this morning and couldn't take care of Shippou and Rin, and I was wondering if . . ."

Kagome sent Shippou off to the couch, with instructions to find something to watch. "Did you two eat breakfast yet?" She asked Rin. The girl shook her head. "Go sit with Shippou, then, and we can eat in a couple minutes, okay?" Rin ran off and Kagome turned back to her father. "Anytime you need someone to watch them, I'll be here. I don't have anything to do; I usually just sit around and watch movies with Miroku all day."

Sesshoumaru allowed a small smile to escape his lips. "Thank you. Just . . . don't let Shippou eat too much chocolate, or he'll get sick." His smile faded. "I should be back around six to pick them up, is that alright?"

Kagome said goodbye, shutting the door after he left. Then she turned her attention to the two children on the couch. "So, do you guys like French toast?"

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Inuyasha pulled into the parking lot of his apartment and got out. He was tired, and just wanted to get inside and sleep. He hoped Kagome didn't mind if he didn't eat dinner. Miroku would probably be there, anyway.

He stepped into the elevator and was surprised to see his brother standing in it. "Where are you going?"

"Your apartment."

"Why?" Sesshoumaru didn't answer him and he sighed, pushing the floor button. At least it had finally been fixed, the stairs were annoying. They both stepped out together, walking in step down the carpeted hallway. Inuyasha unlocked the door and opened it.

Miroku was sitting in front of the television. Inuyasha caught of glimpse of bikini-clad women before the channel was hastily changed. He appeared to be completely enthralled in the TV Guide Channel. "Kag-ems is in her room."

Inuyasha went over, knocking quietly before letting himself in. "Ah," he said, looking at Kagome on the bed, curled up with the children, fast asleep. "Kagome." He shook her shoulder lightly, and her eyes fluttered open.

"Hello, Yasha." Kagome yawned widely. "How was work?"

"It was fine." He pried Shippou away from Kagome's side. "Sess is here to pick the kids up." Kagome got up and carried Rin into the other room. She offered to help carry her down to Sesshoumaru's car, as his hands were full with Shippou.

"We were taking a nap," she said with another yawn. Sesshoumaru glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, stifling a grin. "They didn't eat dinner yet, though." Kagome put Rin in her car seat. The girl didn't wake.

Shippou opened his eyes as his father got him in the car. "Bye Kagome. Can we come back tomorrow, Dad?" Sesshoumaru paused, glancing at Kagome, who smiled. "Please, Dad?"

"We'll see." He shut the car door and turned to look at Kagome. "Thank you, again, for taking care of Shippou and Rin."

"It was no problem at all, and if you need someone to take care of them again, I'd be more than happy to." Her eyes were shining. Sesshoumaru had never met someone who loved someone else's children so much. Of course, they liked her, as well.

Sesshoumaru put his hands in his pockets and stared down at her. "I have to work late tomorrow, and I don't think the babysitter would be better yet, so if you would like to, could you watch them again tomorrow?"

Kagome beamed. "I would love to! Are you sure you don't mind me watching them?"

This time he actually smiled. "Have a nice night, Kagome. I'll see you in the morning." She waved as he drove off, and then went back to the apartment in a happy mood.

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Miroku changed the channel as she went into the apartment. "So what's up Kagadelum?"

"I'm going to watch the kids again tomorrow." She sat next to him on the couch, stealing to remote. "History channel. Special on ghosts." Kagome leaned against his shoulder. "What do you want for dinner?"

"I want . . . sandwiches."

"We had sandwiches for lunch."

"Okay, fine. Spaghettios, then." Kagome settled into his shoulder more comfortably, muttering about how he'd have to get them himself. "I can't eat if you're sleeping on me." She didn't answer. Miroku sighed.

Inuyasha wandered into the living room a few minutes later. Miroku was contentedly watching the History channel, one arm wrapped around Kagome's waist as she slept against his shoulder. Stupid lucky bastard. "What's for dinner?"

"Whatever you want to make. I can't get up right now." Inuyasha sighed and started looking through the cupboards. "How was work today?"

"It sucked. This kid didn't wear the arm guard, and got hit in the shoulder. We had to call an ambulance for him to go get stitches. His mother was pissed." Inuyasha finally decided on a package of ramen. He glanced at Miroku and made it two. "And then Kouga came back in again today. I just don't like that guy."

"Is he the one with the ponytail?" Inuyasha nodded, setting water on the stove to boil. "He's kinda creepy. Upsets Sango, too."

After a few minutes, Inuyasha handed Miroku a bowl of soup. "Don't spill," he cautioned, with a pointed look at the girl sleeping on him. He grabbed the remote, but decided not to change the channel.

"Hey Yash, are you alright?" Miroku asked after a couple minutes. "You haven't touched your ramen." He followed Inuyasha's gaze and sighed. "Why did you take her in? Is it because she looks like her?"

Inuyasha snorted and started wolfing down his noodles. "If I was basing my actions on who she looks like I would have left her in the street." He ate a couple more noodles. "She does look different, though. Kagome is kinder, not so harsh."

"She's prettier," Miroku added. Inuyasha agreed quietly.

With a loud sigh Inuyasha finished off his soup and stood up. He handed the remote to Miroku. "You can watch your bikini girl show again, now. Just keep it quiet so you don't wake her up. I'm exhausted and going to bed."

"It's only 6:45!"

"I know. Goodnight, Miroku."

"Goodnight." Miroku waited until he left the room before hugging Kagome tight and whispering in her ear. "You're a lucky girl, Kagome. I hope you realize that." He smiled and changed the channel on the TV, dropping the volume in consideration.

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AN: So . . . yeah. That's four chapters now. I'd like to thank everybody for reviewing! That's totally awesome. Kagome2107, Sayaka M, thanks for reviewing! And Jessica Lyn, thanks for reviewing again! I like it when people do that, it means you're following my story! Oh, yeah, and to the Evil Liar, I'm sorry about that Sarah thing. Didn't mean to bother you.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: If wishes were horses then beggars would ride, and I could own a stable. I'd name one of my horses Inuyasha and he'd be mine. But I'm not a beggar and I don't know how to ride. Therefore . . . yeah. No Inuyasha horsey for me.

AN: It is like . . . 1:30 in the morning, and my chair is really squeaky. Every time I move it makes a ton of noise. And my sister's listening to some queero music that I never heard of before. And she's typing a book into an IM conversation. (Okay, more like 3 pages, but still . . . a book.)

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Inuyasha was surprised to see Kagome when he woke up in the morning. She usually slept in later. "Is Sesshoumaru dropping Rin and Shippou off today?"

"No, he doesn't have to work today." She was standing at the stove, and Inuyasha could smell pancakes.

"So, is this babysitting thing a permanent deal? You've been watching them for what, two weeks?" Kagome shrugged. "I assume that means yes. I don't care, really." Kagome dropped a plate down in front of him, slipping three fluffy pancakes down on it. She set the syrup on the counter and handed him a fork. "What are you doing today?" Inuyasha asked.

"Nothing. Sitting around the house and watching television."

"So why are you up already?" She shrugged again. "I think Sango's off today, if you want to give her a call." Kagome leaned against the opposite counter, staring at him. Inuyasha ate a pancake self-consciously. "These are good, Kagome. Thanks." She didn't even react. "Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?"

"No." Kagome cooked another set of pancakes, using up the last of the batter. She took one and ate it, then went in on the couch and picked up a book that she had been reading. Inuyasha sighed, unsure what he had done. He finished his breakfast, put the plate in the sink, said goodbye and left.

Kagome set down her book. Miroku wasn't coming today. Rin and Shippou weren't coming. It was too early to call Sango. She had all day left and nothing to do.

Kagome flipped through channels in an uninterested way, not seeing anything worth watching. She looked at her watch: it was only eight in the morning. With a yawn she stretched out on the couch and went to sleep.

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"No, no, no, you're doing it all wrong!" Inuyasha stepped in between the two teenagers, pushing back their practice swords. "How the hell can you hold onto that like that? It's all wrong. And you, two hands, you hear me? Two hands." Inuyasha made them set their feet on the tape crosses on the floor and set them at each other again.

He felt someone behind him, and turned to see Toutousai, the owner of the place. He was a short old man, with buggy eyes. "What do you want?"

"That man Kouga is here. Said you have something for him. A book, or something."

Inuyasha swore. "I forgot it again!" The two teenagers stopped to look at him. "You two, keep practicing." He turned back to Toutousai. "Can you watch these two for a minute? I just need to run home." He watched the old man take charge of his two students, shouting orders happily.

Inuyasha went into the other room, finding Kouga over by the gun counter, watching a couple of girls shoot. "Hey, Kouga, I forgot it again. We can quick run over to my apartment, if you want."

Kouga smirked at him. He was an annoying man, with blue eyes and long black hair pulled into a ponytail. Inuyasha didn't like him much, but had gotten to know him when he came into the weapons training center. He was into weapon history, so Inuyasha had promised to lend him a book that he had. Inuyasha was mad that he kept forgetting because it meant that he had to keep seeing him.

They climbed into Inuyasha's car and he drove home. He let Kouga into his apartment with a slight sense of apprehension, but wasn't sure why. Kagome looked over the back of the couch at him as he opened the door. "Why are you home?"

"I just needed to pick something up. Kagome, this is Kouga." Kagome barely nodded to him, keeping her focus on Inuyasha. He noticed though, that Kouga was thoroughly checking Kagome out. He went into the other room to look for the book. It had to be buried in there somewhere.

He was sifting through the mess and Kagome stuck her head around the door. "Hey, Yasha, I'm going shopping with Sango. Can I borrow your cell phone? Then you can get a hold of me if you need to." He pulled the phone out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"Do you need any money or anything?"

She paused on her way out the door. "Can I have some?" Her face was hopeful, so Inuyasha laughed and handed her some cash. He waved goodbye and Kagome left.

Inuyasha finally found the book and gave it to Kouga. "So who's the chick?" Kouga asked.

"Kagome. She lives here."

"She's pretty hot. Is she … you know … taken?"

Inuyasha glared at him. "She's only 16, Kouga. Don't think like that. She ran away from home and I took her in." Kouga grinned at him again, and Inuyasha tried to ignore it. "Alright, let's go. I need to get back to work."

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Kagome stood outside the apartment doors, looking through Inuyasha's cell phone for Sango's number. She found it and dialed, relieved when Sango picked up. "Hey, Sango, you want to go shopping with me? It's a long story, but I need you to pick me up now, if you don't mind."

In a few minutes, Kagome was sitting next to Sango in the front of her car, driving on their way to the bookstore. Kagome explained briefly why she had wanted to leave the apartment. Sango agreed. "Kouga's pretty creepy. I met him once. He's got really pale blue eyes. They're weird."

"I didn't notice." Sango shot her a confused look. "I told Inuyasha I was going shopping with you, and I borrowed his cell. He gave me some money, too." Kagome smiled. "So how have you been? I haven't seen you in a while."

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Inuyasha was quite happy to go and rescue his students from Toutousai as soon as they got back. Kouga had been pissing him off for no apparent reason. He wasn't even saying anything during the car ride back, just sort of smiling in an odd way. But Inuyasha was in a thoroughly bad mood when he returned, comforting himself by setting his students to stupid tasks before he would teach them. After playing 5 games of patty-cake, 13 rounds of rock-paper-scissors, and doing 23 pushups and 56 jumping jacks, several of his students quit, leaving only three left. As a reward for putting up with his bad mood, Inuyasha let them use real blades, sending the lot home with several band-aids apiece.

When it was time to go home, Inuyasha stormed out of the building and sped off a good deal over the speed limit. He made it home in record time, storming up the stairs and into his apartment. Kagome still wasn't home when he got in, so Inuyasha grabbed a beer and sat on the couch.

He was well into his fifth beer when Kagome came home, a bag of books in her hand. "Hey, Inuyasha, how was work?" He didn't answer, only turned the television on and flipped through channels. "Are you mad at me?"

"Why the fuck would I be mad at you?"

Kagome shied away from him, confused. She put her stuff in her room and went back out to give Inuyasha his phone. He took it without a word and put it in his pocket. "Inuyasha, what's the matter?"

"I had a perfectly miserable day. And I don't feel like talking about it." He took another sip of his beer. "And if I'm being more than a little rude, too bad, I intend on blaming it on being drunk."

"Are you drunk?" Kagome picked up the empty bottles and bottle caps, bringing them into the kitchen.

"I certainly hope so." He leaned back into the couch. "Why? Does that bother you?" Kagome sighed and went over to sit next to him, shaking her head. "Good, because even if it did I wouldn't care." He draped an arm across her shoulders. "Well, I'd care, but I wouldn't do anything about it."

Kagome decided right there and then that she didn't like Inuyasha when he was drunk. He was acting very strange. She looked up and noticed him watching her. It was odd, the look in his eyes, and Kagome didn't like it at all. "Inuyasha?" His eyes narrowed and he pulled her closer to him suddenly. Kagome shrieked. "Inuyasha! What are you doing?" He cut her off before she could say anymore, covering her mouth with his own. Kagome managed to push him away after a short struggle.

"Inuyasha … why are you doing this? Are you really just doing this because you're drunk?" Inuyasha chuckled slightly, kissing her neck. "Inuyasha!" She pushed him away harder, and he sat up looking into her face.

A strange expression flitted across his features as he noticed the tears in her eyes. "Ah … Kagome?" Kagome couldn't stand it: she broke away from him and ran into her own room.

Something about the way he said her name made Kagome think that he hadn't even realized it was her until that last moment. "That's it," she told herself. "He's drunk and he thought I was someone else, that's all. Nothing … nothing to be upset over." But for some reason she didn't understand, Kagome cried herself to sleep that night.

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When Inuyasha woke the next morning, he was sure the world had ended and he was in hell. Bright light shone through every window, loud music played next to his ear, and a she-demon stood by him, telling him to get up.

Inuyasha chucked a pillow at her.

Kagome sighed, shutting off the radio and crouching down next to him. "Come on, now. You need to get up or you're going to be late for work." He rolled off the couch and landed with a thump on the floor. After watching him for a moment, Kagome lifted one of his arms over her shoulder and half-carried him into his own room. She set him down on his bed, taking off his shoes and pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. "I'll call the training center for you. Tell them you're sick."

"Kagome?" She turned back in the doorway. "Last night … did I do anything? Like … anything I shouldn't have done?"

Kagome didn't answer. "Go to sleep Inuyasha." She walked out, shutting the door quietly behind her.

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Moving too fast? Bothering people? If you hate it too much, let me know, k?

Um … yeah, that chapter's kinda short … but it's okay, right? I'll uh … try to write longer ones eventually. My other fic is like totally lost right now, I haven't even thought about writing it lately. So I'd like to thank everyone for reviewing!

Lilpinkpookie: San, Miroku, and Inu are like 23, which is 7 years older than Kag.

Samurai Fish: Hey, think about it … couple of years and she'll be legal … if you can't wait 2 years then it's not worth it.

Jessica Lyn, UdUnNoMe, kagome2107, kagura1993, ocean lore, and miroku48: Thank you! Keep reading and I'll keep updating!

Dea-chan: wow, do you ever shut up? I mean, sure it took you long enough to read the stupid thing, but you're just reviewing, not giving a speech. Cut back a bit.

PS people: Dea-chan is my sister, so I'm allowed to tell her that. I'm not telling anyone else to shut up because I love reviews. Oh, yeah, go read Dea-chan's fic, the Complex. It's niftyliciusorangetree. Very yummy.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Disclaimer: I have a dog. He's stupid. And not cute. He isn't all niftylicious with a cool sword or anything. So what's the point?**

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Miroku burst through her bedroom door at eight o'clock in the morning. Kagome lifted her head and blinked at him. "Good morning, sunshine! It's time to get up!"

Kagome pulled her blanket over her head. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm taking you out today! Now get up so we can go!" He pushed on Kagome's bed so she bounced around. She tried hitting him with the pillow, but it didn't seem to have any effect.

Inuyasha walked to the doorway and watched them for a minute. "Are you aware of the time?" He double-checked his watch to make sure he wasn't wrong. "It's only eight. You want to leave her alone?"

"No! The amusement park opens at nine, and I want to have the whole day today!"

Kagome kicked him away and mumbled from underneath her blankets. "You're taking me to an amusement park?"

"Of course I am! Sango's meeting us there! It's my birthday and I wanted to spend it with my two favorite people!" He didn't even have to turn around to feel Inuyasha's glare. "I mean my two favorite ladies, of course." Inuyasha rolled his eyes and walked out.

Kagome glared at the pony tailed man in the middle of her room. "I'll go, but only because it's your birthday. And you better buy me breakfast." Miroku smiled and practically bounced out of the room, shutting the door as he went.

Kagome quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. After a minute of consideration, she slipped on a sweatshirt, as well. She went into the bathroom and brushed her hair and teeth, then met Miroku in the living room. She slipped her arm through his and yawned. "Happy Birthday, you. Now what's for food?" Miroku handed her a hot pocket.

Inuyasha picked up his keys and jacket. "I need to get to work, guys. Planning on leaving anytime soon?" He held the door open as Miroku ushered Kagome out. "When are you guys coming back?"

Miroku shrugged. "Whenever we get bored. We'll make it back eventually." He grinned. "Why? Are you giving me a party?"

"No, I am not giving you a party. Now get out of my apartment." He locked the door and pushed them down the hallway. "Faster, faster, outside."

Kagome leaned against Miroku in the elevator. "So it's your birthday." He nodded. "So I couldn't sleep in?" She jumped up. "Rin and Shippou! They were supposed to come today!"

"I'll call them," Inuyasha said with a glare at Miroku. "I'll see you guys later." He walked out to his car without another glance their way.

"Is Yash mad at me?" Miroku asked. Kagome shrugged. "You can sleep in the car, if you want. I'll wake you up when we get there."

He woke Kagome up almost half an hour later. She looked up and around the parking lot. "Miroku, this isn't an amusement park. This is Denny's."

Miroku laughed as he got out of the car. He walked around to the passenger side and opened Kagome's door for her. "Come now, Forgetful. I promised you breakfast, didn't I?" She let him lead the way into the restaurant and find a table in the back. Sango was already waiting for them, menus on the table.

"Happy Birthday, Miroku." She said, handing him a menu. "And how are you, Kagome? I haven't seen you in a while." The waitress appeared and took their drink orders.

"So how old are you, Miroku?" Kagome asked.

"Twenty three."

She tilted her head to one side, thinking. "I thought you were all the same age, and isn't Inuyasha 23 now?"

Miroku sighed and put his arm around her shoulders. "You see, Kags, I'm the baby of the group. Inuyasha was born in January, and Sango was born in May, but I'm stuck having my birthday in November. So officially, we were all born the same year, but Inuyasha's almost a whole year older then me." He took a sip of his drink. "Well, now that I think about it, you're the baby now, aren't you?" She pushed his arm of her shoulder and rolled her eyes.

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"That was fun! What do you want to go on next?" Kagome skipped around in a little circle. "Can we go on the really big loopy one? The green one?"

Miroku and Sango walked a couple of steps behind her. Sango had her arms crossed in front of her as she walked to try to keep herself warm. Miroku stuck his hands in his pockets and kept them there. "Why don't we eat lunch, first? It's kinda chilly out. Let's go inside, warm up, and then we can come back out later and go on some more rides."

Kagome smiled and went back over to them. Miroku noticed that she was shivering and her lips were slightly bluish tinted. He glanced at Sango, and by her frown knew that she saw it too. "Let's get you inside before you get sick on us. We can come back out when you're warm and fed."

"I'm fine," Kagome protested, but followed them inside, anyways.

They bought hamburgers and fries, and ate while talking. After he finished, Miroku pulled out the map of the amusement park that he had. "I think we've gone on all the rides, already." He looked at his watch. "It's already after three. How much longer do you guys want to stay here?"

Sango and Kagome shrugged. "We can leave whenever." Sango looked at Kagome. "Did you still want to go on that one ride again?"

Kagome thought for a second, then shook her head. "It's alright. Are you guys going to stay at the house for a while or are you going home?"

"I can't," Sango said. "I have some work to do at home." Miroku shook his head too.

"Do you think Inuyasha would mind if I went to the center?"

Miroku and Sango looked at each other. "I don't see why not. I can always drop you off there. If he doesn't want you there I can bring you home." Kagome smiled at him.

They all got up and went out to their cars. Kagome and Miroku said goodbye to Sango, and then Miroku drove her to the center. "So why did you want to go?"

"I just felt like it. I've never been there before. What's it like?"

Miroku stopped at a red light and turned off the radio. "Well, they teach how to use weapons there." He caught Kagome look and continued. "They have sword, bows, guns . . . and I think that they do knives sometimes, but not often."

"Archery would be fun to learn. I don't think I'd like swords, though. Too . . . obtrusive. Archery's more subtle." She sighed. "The park was so far away."

"A little." His phone rang. "Hello? Sango, I'm driving. You're driving. What . . . what's up?" He hooked up a hands-free set to his phone. "What? No . . . I don't know. I think, no. What? Sango, no way. I just said no! Look, I gotta go. Goodbye." He hung up. "She wanted to know if I was coming over. I just told you I couldn't go over, why should her house be any different?"

Kagome laughed. Miroku looked away. That hadn't been what the call was about. It was about her. And Inuyasha. "We're almost there."

After a couple of minutes, he pulled into the parking lot. He got out of the car with her and went inside. It was a one story building, and the door opened onto a long hallway, with doors leading off on either side. The doors weren't labeled, only had a picture of each weapon etched into the door. They walked past the room with archery, guns, and knives. The other side of the hall had a lounge with the door open. Inside were some couches and a couple of vending machines. They passed a few other doors, unlabeled, before they reached the end of the hallway, where the door was marked with crossed swords.

Miroku opened the doorway and led Kagome inside. Two boys were sparring clumsily. Inuyasha was facing them, his back to the door. He was sitting on the floor in a bored manner, watching the match with no interest whatsoever. He heard the door open and turned to look.

"What are you doing here?"

"Kagome wanted to know if she could come here. Neither of us could stay and hang out today." Miroku put a hand on Kagome's head and she glared up at him.

Inuyasha got up off the floor. "You mean stay here all night? I'm working late today."

"I don't mind," Kagome said shyly, looking at the floor.

"Then sure. Be my guest." He hit one of the boys on the head. "Did I tell you to stop?" They resumed sparring with a sigh.

Miroku said goodbye and left. Kagome sat on the floor next to Inuyasha. "So what's the point?"

"You're supposed to kill your opponent." He glanced at her. "Oh, come on. Not really. Just make a hit that would kill a person." He grabbed a sword from the rack and signaled to one of his students. "This," he said, swinging the blade until it touched his neck, "is a kill. So is this, and this, and this. Try to block, why don't you? And this, and this. Stop messing around and actually block." Inuyasha lowered his sword. "Make sense?"

"Then they're not very good, are they?"

"No, they suck." The boys glared at him. "My next class is marginally better. But these two are new students." He sat back on the floor and looked at his watch. "You two can go now, if you want." They shuffled out of the room.

Inuyasha turned towards Kagome with a smile. "So . . . do you want to try?"

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That's it for today, but I'll do another chapter soon. I hope. Um . . . thanks to everyone who reviewed.

Aaya, I swear I said Christmas, not the 19th. But this is done now, on time by my guess, so I guess Dea-chan has to buy dinner, then? Because I want gyouza.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Disclaimer: In a magical land where wishes come true, I own Inuyasha. But if we were in the magical land, wouldn't you own him too?**

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Kagome dropped to the floor, just barely bringing the practice sword up in time to block. Inuyasha changed the direction of his attack and hit her shoulder. She threw the sword in his face. "I said stop, didn't I?"

"You didn't say please." He bent down to retrieve her sword and placed it back on the rack where it was supposed to go. One of his students called his name, and he crossed the room towards them.

Kagome lay back on the floor, eyes closed. She was surprisingly tired. Well, she hadn't slept much the night before, and then Miroku had woken her up rather early. With a sigh, Kagome opened her eyes, and found herself staring into the largest pair of eyes she had ever seen, inches from her face.

Kagome screamed, and he jumped back a bit. She sat up. The eyes belonged to an old, bald man. He was short and thin, and his eyes bugged out of his face. As she looked at him, he began laughing loudly.

"Didn't mean to scare you," he said, slapping his knee as he laughed. "Didn't mean to scare you."

Kagome felt someone behind her and looked up to see Inuyasha. He held one hand out. "Kagome, this is Toutousai. He owns the center." She nodded at him.

"Kagome, eh? Well, Kagome. It can't be very entertaining in here if you were sleeping on the floor." She opened her mouth to say something but he waved her off. "Come with me, girl. I'll find something better for you to do." He got up and waited for Kagome to follow. Inuyasha nodded at her, so she did.

"You don't look suited to swords," Toutousai said after they had left the room. "But I think guns are too modern to be worthwhile. Any fool can fire a gun. But how many could do any damage with a simple wooden arrow?" He held one finger up. "Yes. That is it." He opened a door and ushered her inside.

The instructor was sitting in a chair with his feet up on the counter, reading a book. He had short dark hair with bleached blond tips, and bright green eyes. He introduced himself as Rei and handed Kagome a bow. "Have you ever tried before?" She shook her head. He gave her a few pointers, then put a quiver of arrows on the counter for her to try. She hit the target first shot.

"You said that you had never tried before."

She put her hands up on the counter and stared at the target. "Hey, look! I hit it! That is so cool! Can I try again?" She smiled at Rei and picked up another arrow.

She shot off the arrows that she had, and Rei went to retrieve them. "I want to try something," he said. "Wait a minute."

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Inuyasha checked each of the rooms. He opened the door of the archery room and slipped inside. Kagome stood, facing the door, holding a bow. Her eyes were closed, and there was a quiver of arrows strapped to her back. "3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . NOW!" Kagome quickly notched an arrow and spun around, releasing the arrow directly into the target. Rei stopped the stopwatch he was holding. "Two seconds, exactly." He glanced up and noticed Inuyasha. "Two seconds, Inuyasha. And it was a moving target! Where did you find her? Even I can't do that."

Kagome smiled. "Did you see me? I hit it!"

"That was very cool, Kagome. So you're not dying or anything?"

"No, I don't think so. I'm having fun." She glanced towards Rei. He smiled back at her. "I haven't been doing anything all day. I don't have a single student coming in. I have a very boring and lonely life once a week. You can stay in here if you're not leaving yet."

Inuyasha left again and Kagome went to get her arrows back. "I'm going to go get a drink. I'll be right back." Rei headed out. It took Kagome a minute to figure out how to turn the target off so it would stop moving. She reached out to grab some of the arrows when she heard the door open.

Kagome turned, expecting to see Rei, but it wasn't him. The man standing there was shorter, with long dark hair. She knew that she had seen him before, but couldn't remember where. He smiled at her.

"Hey, Kagome. Remember me? Kouga." She remembered him now. He had stopped by once. She nodded. "Are you taking lessons here? Me too. Maybe we can take ours together. That would be fun."

Rei walked towards the door, but when he saw Kouga he turned away and walked back down the hallway. Kagome was confused. She thought that he said he didn't have any lessons today.

"Do you want some help getting those?" He walked around the counter and stood in front of her. Kagome couldn't back up any more. Kouga looked at her for a minute before he reached up to grab one of the arrows. "Archery is such an alluring sport, wouldn't you agree?" He looked down at her with a slight smirk on his face.

"Could you let me by?" Kagome moved to go around him, but he put his arm against the wall.

"What's wrong? Do you hate me or something?" He leaned in closer to her.

Kagome was pulled as far away as she could get. She didn't answer. She didn't have to. Kouga was pulled away from her with a sharp jerk. He swiveled with a glare. "Oh. Inuyasha. How can I help you?"

"You can start by not harassing my student," Rei answered him. He grabbed Kagome's shoulders and pulled her away from the wall.

Inuyasha led Kouga to the door. "Do me a favor. Don't come back." He pushed him out and shut the door.

Rei bent down a little to look in Kagome's eyes. "Are you alright? I went to get Inuyasha as soon as I saw him." He smiled a little worriedly.

"Oh my god, I thought you just left me! I couldn't figure it out. You . . ." She started laughing nervously. Rei gave her a hug.

"You want to stay here some more, or come back with me? I've still got to stay here a couple of hours." Inuyasha put his hands in his pockets.

Kagome smiled at Rei and stepped back. "I'll go with you." She held her hand out towards him. Inuyasha looked surprised, but he took it and led her down the hall. His students gave him questioning looks as she took a seat against the wall, but they didn't say anything. When he looked over later, she was stretched out, fast asleep.

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Kagome felt herself moving and woke up, but only a little. She felt herself being carried and she opened her eyes slightly. Inuyasha was holding her, carrying her down the hallway to his apartment. He reached the door and stopped. He looked down at her, then tried to shift her so that he could get at his keys.

Kagome put her arms around his neck and slipped her legs out of his hold. He kept one hand on her back and opened the door with the other. "Please tell me you weren't awake this entire time."

She laughed quietly. "I wasn't." He got the door opened and picked her back up. "I can walk, you know."

"You're the one who didn't let go of me." He brought her into her room and set her down again. She climbed into bed without even taking off her belt and was asleep again within moments. "Goodnight, Kagome." He tucked her into her blankets and went out quietly, shutting the door behind him.

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Thanks if you're still reading this, I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while. For some reason, I can't get chapter 6 online right now, so…. (Granted, I'm not trying 24/7) when I finally do get it online, I will post two chapters at once! Of course, if you're reading this then that means that I did post two chapters at once! Yay! I know that the story's not really going anywhere very fast, but I'm trying! So keep reading! Thanks to everybody who's reviewed!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Disclaimer: I can't prove that I own Inuyasha, but can you prove that I don't?**

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"I'm sorry I fell asleep."

Inuyasha looked up from tying his shoes, a piece of toast in his mouth. He shook his head. "'Sok," he mumbled around the toast.

Kagome knelt down on the floor next to him. "No, really, I mean it. I wanted to stay awake, but Miroku woke me up early and I hadn't gotten much sleep and then we were out all morning-"

Inuyasha held up a hand to stop her. He held the toast for a moment. "I said it was ok. Honestly, I understand. If I was you I'm sure I would have done the same exact thing." He took a bite and chewed happily. "This is good toast. What are you doing up so early? Are you babysitting today?" Kagome nodded. "Alright. Then I'll see you later." He turned towards the door and paused. "I keep forgetting. One of my friends is having this major party thing tonight. I was thinking of going. Do you want to come?"

She laughed. "No, you go out. I won't know anyone there anyways, unless Miroku goes, and I see enough of him as it is." Inuyasha didn't answer. "Hey, I mean it. I'll be fine at home by myself for once. It won't kill me."

"Alright. I'll probably stop back in after work before I go. Eat some toast for breakfast." He headed out, jacket and keys in hand.

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Kagome helped Shippou put his coat on. "I'll see you on Monday, Shippou."

Sesshoumaru picked Rin up. "Thank you for watching them."

"You know I don't mind. They're very well-behaved." There was a knock at the door and Sesshoumaru turned and opened it. Miroku slid inside. "Hey, Miroku. Inuyasha's still at work, but he should be home soon." She said goodbye to Sesshoumaru and the kids, then sat on the couch next to Miroku. "I am so tired."

Miroku laughed. "Didn't we get naptime today?" Kagome leaned against his shoulder.

"I've been tired a lot lately. I don't know why." She heard the key in the lock. "Inuyasha's home."

He came in and dumped his keys on the table. "Why are you here, Miroku?"

"Well, there's that party tonight." When Inuyasha didn't answer, he continued. "And it's at your house."

"What?" Kagome sat up. "You never said it was here!"

"I didn't know it was! Miroku, you're not being serious. I thought it was at … at …"

"Well it was at someone's house, but then they cancelled, so it was moved here?" Miroku started to get worried about his safety.

"With whose permission?" Inuyasha yelled. Miroku shrugged. There was another knock at the door, and Inuyasha went to answer it. "If this was your idea, Miroku, I'll kill you."

Sango stood outside the door. She had dressed up in a cute short dress. "By all means kill him, but what for?" She walked in and looked around. "Ah. I'm going to assume that you didn't know the party was here."

Inuyasha glared at her, as if it was all her fault. "Calm down, Yasha." She patted him on the shoulder. "You've still got an hour before people will start showing up. I'll get Kagome ready, and you two go buy the beer. And maybe some food, if you want it."

Inuyasha sighed. "I am so sorry, Kagome." She didn't respond. "Come on, Miroku. We have to go." He took Miroku away.

Sango looked Kagome in the eyes, leaning against the back of the couch. "What are you so upset about? Parties are fun."

"But I just wanted to stay home, do nothing, go to bed early . . . not go to a party." Kagome flopped back on the cushions, closing her eyes.

Sango smiled at her. "Come on, let's get you dressed. You'll change your mind when you see the dress I made you."

Kagome brightened instantly. "You made me a dress?" Sango opened her bag and pulled it out. It matched the one that Sango was wearing, only it was in a dark green instead of red. It was sleeveless, with a square neckline, and had sheer black fabric layered over the green. Kagome tried it on and it fit perfectly. Sango helped her with her makeup and picked out a necklace. Then she stood back and admired her handiwork.

"You're going to be a hit, I think." She smiled. "Just no drinking, okay? It's a bad habit and it tastes bad, anyways. And don't listen when people tell you otherwise."

They heard Inuyasha and Miroku come back and went out into the living room. "Is there any way for me to lock my door?"

"I think I might have a key." He looked at her for a moment. "You look nice like that."

Miroku looked over and smiled. "Hey Kag-babe. Looking good. The two of you should dress up like this more often." He walked over and put one arm around each of their shoulders. "You almost look like twins."

"Shut up and get back over here, Miroku. We got enough beer to fill the whole fridge. Can you eat this to make room?" Inuyasha handed Miroku some leftover spaghetti and he began eating it cold. Inuyasha went into his room and brought out a key on a string. "You can wear it around your neck if you want, so you don't lose it."

Kagome locked her door, then sat on the couch with Sango. Just twenty minutes until the party started.

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Kagome was talking to Rei, the archery instructor from the center. "You should come again, Kagome. You were really good. And I mean really good. The students that I have now are absolutely useless."

Someone came over towards them. "Rei, want to play some poker? We keep losing people. They all say Inuyasha's cheating." Kagome looked over at the table. Of the five people sitting there, Inuyasha had by far the most chips. Miroku only had one.

"All right, I'll play. Talk to you later, Kagome." He left and Kagome looked around for her soda. She found it on one of the tables. Kagome took a drink, looking around. There were a lot more people than she had expected. The rooms were all filled with people getting rapidly drunk. Half of the lights had been left off, so the room was darkened, except over by the poker tables. With the number of couples hiding in darkened corners, Kagome was glad.

It was getting really hot where she was, Kagome noticed. She took another sip of her soda. Her head felt fuzzy, and she considered just going to bed. Someone started talking to her, but Kagome couldn't tell who it was. She talked with them for a couple of minutes, but Kagome doubted she made much sense.

Her vision cleared for a minute and Kagome realized who was talking to her. "Kouga? What are you doing here?" He put his arm around her waist and said something, but Kagome couldn't understand what he was saying. She shook her head, trying to wake herself up.

It suddenly occurred to her that Kouga was kissing her, and that he had been, but somehow she hadn't realized. She tried pushing him away, but he didn't stop. "No. Stop it." She pushed harder, and Kouga pulled her closer. Suddenly he was gone, and Inuyasha was standing there. He looked furious. Kagome dropped down to the floor, leaning against the wall. Inuyasha picked her up and brought her into his own room. He took the key from around her neck and left her there. Kagome fell instantly asleep.

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Inuyasha looked at his cards, holding back a sigh. He was going to lose this hand miserably. He looked up, glancing around his apartment. Quite the large number of couples in his living room, he noticed. One couple caught his eye. The guy was pushed back for a second and Inuyasha saw that it was Kagome. She was saying something.

Inuyasha put his hand down on the table, his face livid. Some of the people playing looked up to see if he was folding and were shocked at the expression on his face. Inuyasha stood up and walked across his apartment to where Kagome was. He could see it was Kouga now. As soon as Inuyasha got close enough he punched Kouga in the side of his face hard enough to send him flying.

Kagome fell to the ground and he picked her up, locking her into his bedroom. When he went back into the living room, it was dead silent. Kouga was standing, wiping blood off the side of his mouth. He barely had time to look at Inuyasha before he was punched again. Inuyasha kicked him when he was down.

"Don't you ever touch Kagome again." Kouga struggled to his feet, making no reply or effort to fight back. He looked slightly in shock. Inuyasha punched him and blood started pouring from his nose. "Get out of my house before I kill you, Kouga. And if I find out went near her ever again, I will kill you."

Hate crept across Kouga's face as he made his way to the door. Inuyasha went back to the poker table and sat down. "Whose bid is it?" The rest of the players folded and Inuyasha took the chips.

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AN: Yay! Another chapter down! Bad, bad Kouga. I never liked him anyway. There's probably no chance of me ever posting this online, because I can't seem to get chapter 6 online, so chapter 8 is just plain doomed. Well, this story is to be continued…just not right now.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha he's our man! If I can't own him, no one can!**

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When Kagome woke up, it was morning. She opened her eyes slowly. She was in Inuyasha's room. That was quite unusual. When she rolled over she noticed that Sango was on the other side of the bed, and Miroku was sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag. But there was no sign of Inuyasha.

Kagome couldn't remember why she was in his room. She settled back onto the pillow. It smelled like him. Kagome smiled. She was at the party. And she was talking to Rei. And then Rei left. And then … someone started talking to her. Kagome frowned, thinking. It was . . . Kagome's eyes went wide as she remembered. Kouga.

She slipped out of bed quietly, so as not to wake Sango. She left the room and went down the hallway. Inuyasha was in the kitchen, rinsing out beer bottles and putting them back into the crates that they had come in so that they could be recycled. Kagome stood in the doorway, not saying anything.

Inuyasha turned around and noticed her. "Kagome," he said. "How … how are you?"

"I … I'm … I don't know." She put her face in her hands and she began to cry. Inuyasha rushed over and wrapped her in a hug.

"Hey, hey. Calm down." He rested his chin on top of her head, his arms loosely wrapped around her waist. "You're fine, don't worry." Inuyasha picked her up and walked with her over to the couch. Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and kept crying into his shirt.

Inuyasha was at a loss. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. "If it makes you feel any better, he won't be back." Kagome's arms tightened around his neck. "I think I broke his nose." He heard her laugh once, and her crying slowed. "I also won't be hosting any more parties."

Kagome didn't answer, so Inuyasha just sat with her, petting her hair awkwardly. After a while she stopped crying completely, and when Inuyasha looked at her, he noticed that she was asleep.

Inuyasha carried her back into his room, and saw Miroku trying to sneak into bed with Sango. When Miroku saw them, he sighed dejectedly and turned to head back to his sleeping bag. Inuyasha shook his head. "Help me unlock her room."

Miroku grabbed the key off of Inuyasha's dresser and unlocked her door for him. "Where did you sleep?"

"On the couch."

Miroku nodded. "Is she okay?"

Inuyasha hesitated a moment before answering. "She'll be fine." He slipped Kagome into her bed and then walked back out, shutting the door behind them.

"Her dress is going to be very wrinkled by the time she wakes up," Miroku noted. "I hope Sango used ironable fabric." He slipped back down the hallway. Inuyasha went back to the kitchen to finish rinsing out bottles.

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Sango shook Kagome's shoulder. "Wake up, sleepyhead. It's two o'clock already." Kagome muttered something into her pillow. "We're going to be leaving now. It's time for you to get up. And get out of that dress before you kill it."

Kagome sat up quickly, looking down at her dress. "Is it washable? Ironable?" She looked at a spot and sighed. "I think someone spilled beer on it." Sango assured her that it was cotton; washable, ironable, but don't dry it because it will shrink. Sango also informed her that it was time for her to get up, get dressed, wash her face, brush her hair.

"Miroku and I are leaving, so I'll see you later." She pulled Kagome into a hug and whispered into her ear. "Inuyasha's worried about you."

Kagome looked puzzled. "Did he really break Kouga's nose?"

Sango nodded. "You should have seen him. He was pissed. He jumped up, punched him away from you, locked you up, and then came back and beat him. His nose was bleeding all over. We had to wash it out of the rug this morning."

Kagome bit her lip, trying not to laugh. "That's … horrible?" Her laugh burst out. "I'm so horrible, I'm laughing about it. Oh, but I hate him." She got out of bed and told Sango to say goodbye to Miroku for her.

She heard Miroku and Sango leave as she was getting dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. Kagome put her hair up into a ponytail and then slipped across the hallway to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, Kagome realized that she was a mess. Her makeup had smeared around her eyes, probably from crying. Kagome winced at her reflection and began hastily scrubbing the makeup off.

Inuyasha was playing solitaire when she went out. She pulled a chair up next to him and watched for a minute. "I'm sorry." She was met with a direct gaze from his amber eyes. Kagome bit her lip and tried to avoid the gaze.

"If it's anyone's fault then it's mine, therefore I'm the one who should be sorry." He turned back to his cards. "You have nothing to be sorry about." Kagome watched him play for a while more. He kept missing a card, so she reached across him and moved it.

She turned towards him as she did so, finding herself a lot closer to him than she had anticipated. "Thank you," she said quietly. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Kagome went back to her room to find the book that she was reading.

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On Monday, Kagome slept in as long as possible. Inuyasha was at work. Sesshoumaru had the day off, so she didn't have to baby-sit. And Miroku claimed that he had a job interview, so he wouldn't be coming over.

Kagome was bored. She was bored with just sitting around every day watching television. She never had anything to do. She briefly debated a job, but decided that she wasn't that ambitious. In the end, she went off on a search for crayons.

She was standing on a chair, looking through the cupboards above the stove when the door opened. Kagome knew that Inuyasha shouldn't be home yet, so she turned to look.

The person who walked in was a woman, rather tall and very thin. She was wearing a tight red dress that was just barely long enough to cover her decently, extremely high heeled sandals, and a short jacket. Her hair was long and flowed down her back. She walked in as if she owned the apartment, looking around possessively. But the part that startled Kagome most was her face. She looked exactly like Kagome.

Kagome hopped down off the chair. "Who are you?"

The woman turned to her with scorn. Her eyes were dark brown like Kagome's, but filled with definite dislike. "I'm Inuyasha's fiancée. Who are you?"

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AN: Ooh….cliff hanger! Oh no! Who…who is this new person? What, what, fiancée? Things are looking bad for our heroine!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Inuyasha, but neither do you.**

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Inuyasha sighed, leaning against the elevator wall, phone next to his ear. "How long until they call you back?" Miroku answered him, causing Inuyasha to sigh again. "So basically you still don't have a job and I can expect to see you here every day when I get home still?"

He marched down the hallway towards his apartment, ignoring Miroku's protests. Inuyasha unlocked the door and opened it. The phone fell from his hand.

For a moment Inuyasha thought he was delusional. There were two Kagomes sitting in chairs, glaring at him. After a second or two he realized that one of them wasn't supposed to be there.

"Ki-Kikyo? What are you-" He was cut off as the woman stood up from her chair, strode across the floor, and kissed him full on the lips.

Kagome also jumped up, but she grabbed Inuyasha's phone and continued out the door. "Miroku? I need you to pick me up. Right away." And she hung up. Kagome slammed the door on the couple in the apartment and went down to the lobby to wait.

When the car pulled up outside, Kagome went out and climbed inside. "Hey, Kagarific! How's it going?" Kagome glared at him and then turned towards her window.

They drove in silence. Miroku was tempted to turn on the radio to create some noise, but he didn't. They were almost at Miroku's apartment before Kagome said anything. "Why didn't you tell me that Inuyasha is engaged?"

"What?" Miroku swerved towards oncoming traffic, pulling the car back amidst angry horns.

"I said, why didn't you tell me that Inuyasha was engaged?"

Miroku pulled into a parking lot and parked before he answered her. "What makes you think that he's engaged?"

Kagome gave him a flat look. "His fiancée waltzing into the apartment tends to do that."

"Fiancée … fiancée … who could … wait, was her name Kikyo?"

She turned back to the window. "See, you know her."

"Kikyo is highly delusional and mentally unstable. She stalked Inuyasha at work for two months after he broke up with her. She hasn't been around in a while … I was kinda hoping that she'd died somewhere or something." Miroku patted Kagome's shoulder. "Don't worry, we're not hiding anything from you."

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "So he's not engaged?" Miroku shook his head and started to pull back out onto the road. Kagome settled into her seat. "She looks just like me."

Miroku didn't answer for a moment. "I think we should go to Sango's house. You could meet her brother." He maneuvered them through traffic quickly. Kagome managed not to comment on his speeding.

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The boy who opened the door was tall and thin, with dark hair and dark eyes and an obvious resemblance to Sango. He smiled as he saw them. "Hey, Miroku. How are you? And you must be Kagome. I'm Kohaku. Come on in." He struck Kagome as being extremely mature.

Miroku and Kagome sat down on the couch as Kohaku put his school stuff into his bag. "Oh, Happy Birthday, Miroku. It was just a couple of days ago, right?" Miroku nodded. "Sango should be home soon, she's actually running a little late."

"How's school going?" Miroku asked.

"I can't wait for Christmas vacation. Just a month left, now. But it's alright, I guess. We don't really learn much." They heard the keys in the door. "Ah, Sango's home!"

She took one look at the faces of Miroku and Kagome and her eyes narrowed. "Did that bitch show up again?"

"She told Kagome she was his fiancée!" Miroku put his face in his hands.

"You owe me fifty bucks, then. She's not dead, and she came back. Fifty bucks." She walked over and sat down next to Kagome. "You're upset."

Kagome shook her head. "What would I be upset about?" She looked at Sango out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh I didn't mean anything by it, just, you know, it must have been horrible spending an entire day with her."

"No, I enjoy spending time with my clones." Sango drew back slightly. "Is that why Inuyasha let me stay?"

Miroku pulled her into a hug. "Don't insult yourself, Kag-bear." She sighed and hugged him back. "We love you for who you are, not who you look like. If it was me, basing it on your appearance, I'd kick you back out into the street."

There was a knock on the door, and Sango let Inuyasha inside. He collapsed into a chair and closed his eyes. "Trouble?" Miroku asked him.

"My landlord says that I can't change my locks, because he has a master key that works on all the rooms, and if I change mine then his master key won't work. I took the key that she had, but I'm pretty sure she still has more copies." He sighed. "So she'll probably be back. I had thought she had given up."

He opened his eyes and caught Kagome's flat look. "Are you mad at me?" he asked, confused. She just smiled wryly. "You are mad at me. Why?"

"You don't have crayons." Inuyasha's jaw dropped slightly. He looked to Sango and Miroku for help but they were just as confused. "I just wanted to draw, ok? And I was looking for crayons and I couldn't find them. And then she showed up and I ended up getting interrogated all day by someone claiming to be your fiancée, which I had never heard of so I thought you had been lying to me this whole time, and I just wanted crayons!"

Miroku patted her shoulder, trying not to laugh. Inuyasha was in shock. "She said she was what?"

Kagome crossed her arms and turned to Miroku with a glare. "Don't laugh at me. I know you're laughing, don't deny it, I can see your face."

Inuyasha's shock dissipated. "I have crayons. Somewhere. I'll find them for you." He got up and held out a hand. "Go home now?"

She took his hand and let him pull her off the couch. They said goodbye and left the apartment together. As soon as they left, Kohaku came back into the room. "So how long have they been together?"

Sango shook her head. "Oh, they're not together, together. They just live together."

Kohaku nodded. "Right, I'll believe that. So what are the bets on how long it'll take them to get together?"

"I'll give them a month," Miroku said.

Sango bit her lip. "There's a lot going against them, I'll give them two or three." She smiled. "If they even figure it out themselves."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha is … a) not mine b) not yours c) not real d) all of the above**

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Kagome lay on the couch, sipping her coke. She was really thirsty. And she had a headache. She was kinda hoping the caffeine would help it somewhat. Inuyasha walked over and leaned over the back of the couch. "Isn't it a bit early for caffeine?"

"Shippou and Rin are coming early today." Inuyasha nodded. "Should be here any minute now," she added with a glance at her watch. She was rewarded with a knock on the door.

Inuyasha let the children in and they ran to the couch and jumped up on Kagome. "Hey guys, how's it going?" They cuddled in, grabbing a blanket off the back of the couch and trying to go back to sleep. "Sleep sounds good, I agree."

Inuyasha headed out to work. "My cell number is on the fridge if you guys need anything." Kagome waved him out and he left.

After a satisfying few hours of sleep, Shippou woke Kagome back up so that she could make lunch. They had ham sandwiches and potato chips and coke, playing a quick game of chutes and ladders as they ate.

"What do you guys want to do today?" Kagome washed the dishes quickly, handing them to Rin to dry.

"Can you tell us a story, Gome?" Shippou hugged one of her legs, looking forlorn.

Kagome laughed and patted his head. "After the dishes, alright? Then I'll tell you a story." They finished the dishes quickly, settling into the couch.

"Alright. Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess. Everyone around knew of her spectacular beauty. Her eyes were brown like chestnuts, and her hair was as black as a raven, long and flowing."

Shippou frowned. "I thought princesses were supposed to be blond and blue-eyed."

"Of course not. Rin doesn't have blond hair or blue eyes, and she's a pretty princess if I've ever seen one." She turned to Rin with a smile. "Isn't that right?" The girl blushed. Kagome suddenly ran one hand over her face.

"Are you all right, Gome?" Shippou pressed his hand against her forehead.

"Actually, I'm sorry guys, but I don't really feel very good." Kagome started to get up. "I'm going to call Miroku to have him come over and watch you guys for me." He knees buckled and she collapsed, hitting the coffee table as she fell. She heard Rin and Shippou scream before everything went black.

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Inuyasha set the boy's feet on the tape he stuck in the rug. "Stand there. Don't move." He spun the duck tape roll around his finger. Gotta love duck tape.

His phone rang and he reached into his pocket to answer it. "Go…attack each other, I don't know." He flipped the phone open. "Hello?"

"Uncle Inu?" The voice was quiet, and he didn't recognize it.

"Who … Rin?" The shock must have registered in his voice because his students all turned to watch him. "What, what happened? Is something wrong?" She started crying. "Rin, calm down. What's wrong? I need you to stop crying for me, okay?"

"Kagome … fell. I don't know what to do. She won't wake up." She sniffed a few times. "I'm scared."

Inuyasha dropped the duck tape. "Is … is she …"

"She's still breathing, but we can't wake her up."

Inuyasha let out a relieved sigh. "I'm coming home, okay Rin? I'm going to hang up now, but I'll be home as soon as I can, okay?" He shut his phone and stared wide-eyed at his students for a minute. Then in a flurry of movement he ran and grabbed his keys, then ran out of the room.

He looked into the main office, but no one was there. He ran to the archery room. "Where's Toutousai?" he asked Rei. He shrugged. "Watch my class I have to go home. Thanks, bye!" And he ran out.

Rei got up slowly and went to Inuyasha's room. The students still stood in the center, confused. He looked at them. They looked back. "The sitting room has cable," he said. They all went and watched Myth Busters.

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Inuyasha sped through town, running every light he came through, narrowly avoiding accidents on several occasions. He pulled out his phone (let's not leave any laws unbroken) and dialed up Miroku.

"Well, hello there, Yash. Shouldn't you be at work?" Miroku's patronizing tone seeped through the phone.

"You need to get to my apartment as soon as possible, you hear me? As soon as possible." He hung up, hoping Miroku understood.

Inuyasha raced up the stairs, unable to wait for the elevator, and burst into his apartment. Kagome was stretched out on the floor by the couch, Shippou was petting her hair, crying, trying to get her to wake up. His hands were red.

Shippou held one hand out. "She hit her head. She's bleeding. Is Kagome going to die?"

"Rin! Go to the bathroom and get me a towel, quick. Shippou, go wash your hands. You shouldn't touch other people's blood or you can get sick." He pushed a piece of hair out of Kagome's face. "She'll be fine, now go."

The door slammed open and Miroku and Sango came rushing inside. "Inuyasha, what …" Sango gasped. Miroku ran over as Rin handed Inuyasha a towel.

"I need you to drive us to the hospital. Sango, can you stay here with the kids?" Inuyasha scooped Kagome into his arms as Sango nodded. She hugged Shippou close to her. "We'll be back soon, I hope."

He and Miroku rushed out the door.

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AN: Another chapter finished…I'm going to go start the next one now…maybe I should update?


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Disclaimer: I need a life**

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"Drive faster, dammit!"

"I'm already speeding! What will I do if a cop sees me?"

"Speed up!" Inuyasha felt Kagome shift slightly. She moaned and clutched at his shirt. Her eyes fluttered, but didn't focus. "We're bringing you to the hospital, Kagome."

She pushed herself upright and shook her head. "No, not the hospital. The hospital will … send me … home …" She collapsed back onto his chest.

Inuyasha stared straight ahead for a moment, calculating. "Turn around," he said.

"What?" Miroku looked at him like he was crazy, swerving around traffic. "The hospital is this way."

"I said, turn around!" Miroku shook his head and pulled a u-turn across two lanes of traffic. "Now turn left up here." He pointed Miroku away from the main streets and into a quiet residential area. They pulled into the driveway of a small, undistinguished house. Inuyasha got out of the car clumsily, carrying Kagome in his arms. He went up to the door and rang the bell.

After a long moment, an elderly woman opened the door. She ushered them inside and sat Miroku in a chair next to the door. "You, bring her in here." She led him into a small bedroom, furnished with only a bed and a table. Inuyasha put Kagome down on the bed and then he was kicked out of the room.

He wandered back to the front door and took a seat next to Miroku. "Where are we?" Miroku asked him.

"This is Kaede's house. It's a hospital. But she doesn't worry about what the law says she should do and she only takes cash." He leaned back and closed his eyes. "I used to have to come here a lot when I was younger. We never had insurance after my father died, and I don't know how legal my mother's income was, and I used to get beat up all the time. But that was before my mom died. Then we were sent to the foster family and they got us real insurance and they made me stop fighting so much."

Kaede walked back out of the room Kagome was in. "So, boy, how'd you know I was still here?"

"I only assumed. But then I saw your garden so I knew it was still you here."

"And if I refused to take you in?" Inuyasha only smiled at her, for they both knew that she wouldn't turn someone away until she was sure they'd be all right. "So, then. Why are you here? Shouldn't you have sent her to a hospital? Or are you afraid of something?"

"She's afraid they'd send her home." Inuyasha said. Miroku nodded.

Kaede raised one eyebrow and sent him a look that clearly meant she wanted more. Inuyasha didn't answer. "Well, she'll be fine. She's extremely dehydrated. She's probably been tired recently, yes? And most likely having dizzy spells. And I think she was passing out and she hit her head, correct? The impact gave her a slight concussion, she'll be fine. I cleaned up her head, bandaged it up. She's got an IV in her right now, but she's going to need to be drinking a lot of water in the next few days to rehydrate herself." She pointed at Miroku. "You can go now." Kaede turned back to Inuyasha. "I know you won't be going anywhere, though. You're too stubborn for that."

It took a while before they convinced Miroku to leave, but finally he did, leaving Inuyasha behind. Kaede stared at him for a long moment. "Go ahead and check on her. When you're done you can come join me for some dinner. You remember where the kitchen is, I presume."

Inuyasha got out of the chair slowly and went into the bedroom. Kagome had been tucked neatly under the blankets. There was a railing on one side of the bed and her arm was strapped to it with an IV attached. She was pale, and she looked very young and fragile. The bandage around her head made a sharp contrast with her hair.

Inuyasha sat on the side of her bed and brushed her hair away from her face. "I'm glad you're okay," he whispered. "I can't stand to see you hurt." Inuyasha leaned forward and kissed her forehead gently while she slept. "Get better fast, Kagome."

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Kagome was uncomfortable. But when she tried to shift into a different position, she couldn't move her arm. She opened her eyes and turned slowly to find her arm strapped to a railing on the side of her bed. Her eyes followed the needle in her arm up to the IV drip.

She closed her eyes again and sighed. She had to be in a hospital. It didn't look like a hospital, and it didn't smell like a hospital, but there was no other explanation. Kagome sat up and started unstrapping her arm. She debated taking out the IV, but decided against it. She didn't want to hurt herself.

The door opened and a short, round, old woman walked in. "Good morning, child. My name's Kaede. Would you like me to take that out for you, now?" She pulled the IV out carefully. "Now, how's your head?"

Kagome reached up and felt the bandage wrapped around her forehead. "Oh. It's fine."

Kaede patted her shoulder. "You hit it on the table when you fell. It's ok. You'll be fine. A bit dehydrated, you were. Take better care of yourself. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids. I never want to see you again, you hear?"

Kagome nodded. Kaede smiled at her and left the room. Kagome went over to the window and looked out over a large vegetable and herb garden. A line of flowering bushes outlined the edge of the yard, and a couple of butterflies hovered among the flowers.

"Kagome." She turned, smiling as she saw Inuyasha in the doorway. He crossed the room to stand in front of her. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Where am I? That's such a nice garden. This isn't a hospital, is it?" She stopped, looking up at Inuyasha's face. "What's wrong?"

He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a tight hug. "Don't ever do that again. I was so worried about you." Kagome's eyes were wide. "And you scared Shippou and Rin to death." Kagome gasped. He could tell by the look on her face that she had forgotten. Reluctantly, Inuyasha let Kagome go. "Rin actually talked to me. She called. I couldn't figure out who it was at first."

"I'm sorry." Inuyasha smiled at her.

He pulled out his cell phone and called Miroku. "Hey, you want to pick me up? No. No. Get your ass over here, and then you can talk to her all you want." He hung up. "Here, come on out of here. I need to go talk to Kaede. Then we'll go home."

Kagome went out into the hallway. There was a bulletin board, covered with pictures. Most of them were children. She pulled one picture out from where it was half buried under a group of children with a turtle. Two young silver haired boys smiled up at her. The younger one was getting a piggyback ride.

Inuyasha walked up behind her and took it out of her hands. "You don't need to look at that."

Kaede took it from him and smiled. "I remember Sesshoumaru. He was always so quiet. This was one of the only smiles I ever saw of his." She handed it back to Kagome. "Take this with you. I have another copy somewhere." She shooed them out of her house and waited with them on the step.

Miroku showed up in a few minutes, Sango following him in Inuyasha's car. He ran up and gave Kagome a hug. "How are you feeling, Kag-kun?"

She smiled at him and Sango. "I'm fine." Once Miroku was convinced that Kagome wasn't going to die on him, they said goodbye to Kaede and left.

Kagome settled into the front seat of Inuyasha's car and sighed. Inuyasha glanced at her and smiled. "Happy to be going home?" She nodded. "Good. You look tired, still. Go back to sleep, I'll wake you up when we get there." Kagome happily closed her eyes and was asleep within moments.

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AN: Yay! Another chapter! I hope you all liked it! I'm sorry to keep you waiting so long, but my Internet was down for a while, and then I was just lazy… yea I'm pretty lazy. But here it is, I'll try to keep writing, ok?

AN: I'm sorry that I have to say this, but I'm afraid that I have to. For the record, Kagome's a virgin, okay? She does not have any STD's. She's only 16, guys. Kagome's a good girl.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Disclaimer: I was taking a walk today; it was really quite icy out, as there had just been an ice storm which had in fact taken out our power. It was amusing outside because the grass and trees were so very thickly coated in ice that if you touched them at all, they would break off in your hand. Many a tree branch died that day. Unfortunately, it seemed that the ice made it hard for the animals living in the tree. As my friends and I watched, a squirrel fell off of its tree branch, and apparently, hung itself, for it never moved again. In any case, I have no power, so that is why I am writing this chapter now.**

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Kagome sat in the car, curled up in a blanket. She sulked. It was only 7:30, and she did not want to be awake yet. She wanted to stay home, sleep, maybe watch a little television, read Dea Mariella's fanfic The Complex, which had just updated, and then sleep some more. But somehow, she found herself in Inuyasha's car, on the way to work with him.

Let's replay this morning, shall we?

Kagome was dreaming sweetly of kittens and rosebuds when suddenly the door to her room burst open with a loud bang and her blankets were harshly pulled back. "Wake up, you're coming to work with me today."

"No."

"You said that Sesshoumaru wasn't coming today, so you have no reason to stay behind."

Kagome pulled her blankets back and snuggled them up to her chin. "I just got out of the hospital, I'm sleeping."

Inuyasha sighed and pulled her blankets back again, this time completely off the bed. "Yes, you just got out of the hospital, I'm not leaving you home alone. You can sleep there."

Kagome was so overwhelmed by the rush of caring and compassion that she jumped out of bed and cried, "Yes, yes I'll go!"

Or Inuyasha threw her over his shoulder and carried her out to the car, whichever works.

Kagome was at least thankful that she had fallen asleep in her clothes the night before. She didn't want to be running around in her pajamas.

When they got to the center, Kagome wrapped her blanket tighter around her shoulders and stomped in behind Inuyasha. She smiled at Rei when he said hello, but otherwise made no note of anyone she saw. Inuyasha unlocked his office and she sat down in his chair, glaring at him, and beginning to finger-comb her hair. It was useless. In the end she managed to put it into a semi-decent looking braid, but it still wasn't great.

"Stop sulking. It won't kill you to be here. You can go hang out with Rei if you want. Come on, I'll walk you down." He held out his hand and pulled Kagome to her feet. Reluctantly, she put down her blanket and followed him.

A few of Inuyasha's students were waiting for him. He told them to get warmed up as they walked past. He dropped Kagome off in the archery room and then went back to his class.

"So… who was that?" Inuyasha looked at the boy in confusion. "Was she your girlfriend?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "No, she's not."

"Is she single?" Another asked.

Inuyasha leaned against the wall. "Well, she might be. But even if she was, I don't think she'd be interested in any of you. You're all so weak." The boys started arguing with him. "Well, maybe one of you might have a chance. But you'd have to be the best."

They started arguing amongst each other now, fighting to be the best. "Why don't you prove it? If you can prove that you're the best, come fight me. Win and I'll tell you her name. I'll give you her phone number. Hell, I'll even introduce you." He leaned towards them and smiled. "But only if you're the best."

Within seconds the boys had paired off and started sparring.

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"So are you feeling better?" Rei asked.

Kagome nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm kinda tired, but I think I'm fine." She paused. "Did Inuyasha tell you I was sick? Or do I just look that terrible?"

Rei laughed. "Neither. I just assumed. I don't think Inuyasha's ever taken time off of work before." He pulled one of the bows off the wall. "I should have a student coming in soon, but you can shoot some if you'd like."

She smiled and took the proffered bow and quiver. "I had hoped you'd say that."

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Inuyasha was holding back, letting the kid think he was winning. He could see how excited he was getting about his chance to meet Kagome. It was almost kinda funny, actually. Then the door opened, and Inuyasha froze. The kid hit him in the side of the head quite hard.

Sesshoumaru walked into the room with a glare. "Where is she?"

Inuyasha didn't answer for a moment. "She's …"

Kagome walked in behind him. "Hey, Inuyasha, can I … Sesshoumaru? What are you doing here?" She frowned. "Where are the kids? You didn't leave them alone, did you?"

"They're in the car." Kagome nodded and went into Inuyasha's office. She came back out a minute later with a jacket on.

Inuyasha protested. "Hey, that's my jacket."

She stopped and glared at him. "Well maybe if someone hadn't dragged me out of bed in the morning I could have gotten my own jacket. You can have it back when you come home tonight."

"Kagome! Give me back my jacket!" She ignored him and walked out of the room, following Sesshoumaru to his car. He sighed, and then turned back to his students. They were all sending a glare of death in his direction. He straightened up and scratched the back of his head. "I kinda get the feeling you guys all have the wrong idea about this …"

"GET HIM!"

"Aagh!"

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Inuyasha came home at 6:30. Kagome was in the kitchen, cooking something. He walked up behind her and hugged her. She shrieked.

"Get off me! Why are you all wet?"

"It's pouring out. And I didn't have a jacket, and someone stole my parking spot so I had to park way far away from the building …"

Kagome squirmed around until she was facing him. "You're dripping," she pointed out. He shook his head and sprayed water from his hair all over her with a grin. "Stop it!" She turned back to the stove.

"What are you making?" He rested his chin on top of her head to look over at the stove.

"Bacon. I felt like a BLT. Is that ok?" She pried at the fingers around her waist. "Can you let go now?"

Inuyasha tightened his grip. "But you're so warm," he whined.

"Maybe you should get out of those wet clothes."

He raised one eyebrow. "Oh really?" Kagome blushed.

"Well this is certainly interesting." Inuyasha turned with surprise to see Miroku leaning over the back of the couch, grinning. Inuyasha frowned at him.

"Oh, Miroku's here, by the way," Kagome said innocently.

Inuyasha let Kagome go and walked towards Miroku, arms outstretched. "Do you want a hug, too, Miroku?" He put his hands up to ward Inuyasha away and shook his head. "Then shut up." He headed to his room. "Did Sesshoumaru pick the kids up already?" Miroku nodded. "Good." He went into his room and shut the door behind him.

Miroku watched Kagome with a devious grin. "Can I hug you, too?"

Kagome blushed again. Then she paused. Suddenly she spun around to face Miroku. "You should sleep over!"

"I take my last comment back."

"No, no, no. You and Sango and me and Inuyasha should have a sleepover and we should rent movies and eat popcorn and stuff." Her eyes were wide with excitement.

"Yeah, you're sixteen alright."

Inuyasha had come back out in the middle of her new idea. He had changed into dry clothes and was drying his hair with a towel. "Kagome, tomorrow's Thursday."

"Yeah, I know! Sango doesn't have to work on Thursday, and Sesshoumaru said that he had told me that I didn't need to watch the kids tomorrow, and I was just confused and thought he meant today, so I'm all fine."

"I have to work tomorrow."

Kagome waved it off. "We don't care. What do you think, Miroku? Please?" She turned the biggest, saddest puppy-dog eyes ever seen on him.

Miroku caved. "I'll go call Sango."

"Yay!" Kagome did a quick little dance in a circle, then hugged Miroku. "Your sandwiches are ready, by the way." She handed Miroku and Inuyasha their plates with a smile.

Inuyasha sighed. "Thanks." He glared at Miroku, who shrugged. "You know, I don't think I've ever had a sleepover."

Miroku nodded and leaned in conspiratorially. "That's because we're not girls." Then he pulled out his phone and called up Sango.

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AN: Woohoo! Another chapter! Aren't we all excited, now?


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Disclaimer: I have a penguin.**

"So what movie do you feel like watching tonight?" Kagome asked, scanning the shelves.

Sango shrugged. "I don't know. Have you heard of any good new ones?" Kagome shook her head. "Oh, hey." She pulled a box out and looked at the cover. "I remember Inuyasha talking about this one. He said it was good. Action, I guess."

Kagome glanced vaguely at the cover. "Sure. And I want to get Charlie's Angels for Miroku."

"Yeah. I love him." Sango was zoning out slightly, but after a moment she snapped back to attention. "I mean it! I mean the movie!" She sighed.

Kagome smiled and looked at her out of the corner of her eye. "So, Miroku, huh?"

She sighed again. "Yeah. But don't tell him okay? It's just so … I don't know. Difficult, with him." Her shoulders slouched and her eyes took on a faraway look.

Kagome grabbed another movie off the shelf and then led Sango towards the counter. She paid for the movies and then they headed out towards the car.

They drove for a while in silence, but when they were just a few minutes from the apartment Sango suddenly exploded. "I mean, what am I supposed to do? If I tell him, who knows what he'll do? He's so unpredictable. Unless it's with women, because then he's so predictable it's upsetting. As soon as anyone with a skirt walks by he's all over them, and I'm just left on the side for him to come back to when he's done. And I'll do it! Because I do love him, and I can't help myself. So if I tell him to stop it doesn't matter because no matter what he does I'll always go back to him. I'm such a loser! What is wrong with me?" She gripped the steering wheel as though she were trying to strangle it.

Kagome thought about it for a moment. "Well," Sango jumped as though she had forgotten Kagome was there. "I think you should tell him. Tell Miroku how you really feel. Tell him to stop flirting with all the girls he sees. If he can't respect your feelings enough to do that, he's not worth your time, and you should move on."

Sango nodded slowly. "But what if he doesn't feel the same way?"

"How will you know until you ask?" Kagome smiled at her and she smiled back.

They parked the car outside the apartment building and headed up in the elevator. Sango was smiling, hopeful about telling Miroku how she felt.

Then the elevator door opened.

Miroku was leaning against the doorframe of Inuyasha's apartment. Next to him was a thin, pretty Chinese girl. And unfortunately, she seemed to be enjoying Miroku's attentions. He said something and Kagome and Sango could hear her laugh from the end of the hall. Sango's good mood vanished. She marched to the end of the hall and stood in between Miroku and the girl.

"What are you doing?"

He stammered. "Well, we uh, we ordered Chinese food and then I was paying for the food, and …" He trailed off helplessly. Sango pushed past him into the apartment with a glare.

The delivery girl backed away slowly. "I should be going. Sorry." Miroku nodded at her. "Have a nice night," Kagome said. She nodded back and walked quickly down the hall.

Kagome turned to Miroku and shook her head. "Better go inside. You know she's waiting."

He took a deep breath and then walked through the door. "Sango …"

"What?" She stood in the middle of the room, arms folded across her chest.

Miroku thought quickly. What to say… "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Wrong choice. Of course, given the situation, anything he said would have been the wrong thing to say. "You're sorry? Sorry for what? For the hundreds of times that you've been hitting on other girls right in front of me?"

"Look, maybe you're overreacting."

"Overreacting?" Her voice spiraled up. Kagome was standing against the closed door, trying to find some way to get around them without anyone noticing. Inuyasha was nowhere in sight. "You think I'm overreacting?" She turned to Kagome. "Do you think I'm overreacting?"

Kagome put her hands up to hold off any more questions. "Please leave me out of this."

"What are you turning on her for? Yell at Inuyasha, he's the one who made me pay for the food."

"I'm sorry," Sango yelled. "I didn't realize you needed Inuyasha to baby-sit you." Miroku frowned. Not what he meant. "Don't you think you should be old enough to make your own decisions about who you flirt with or not?"

She saw Kagome putting away the Chinese food and frowned even deeper. "And look, now you're bringing Kagome into this!"

"How am I bringing Kagome into this?"

"I'm not in it, I swear!" She scurried out of the kitchen and ran into the living room. Inuyasha was stretched out on the couch, a pillow over his head, watching the television, completely hidden from the kitchen. Kagome climbed onto the couch so that she was sitting behind his knees, her legs drawn up to her chin.

Sango and Miroku continued to argue. Mostly it was Sango yelling, with Miroku occasionally adding a comment which only made Sango even madder than she was before. Every now and then one of them would direct another question at Kagome and she would whimper and try to avoid it. Finally, Inuyasha pulled the pillow off his head and screamed at them.

"Get out! Get out of my apartment! If you're going to break up, do it somewhere else, and keep us out of it!" There was silence for a moment, and then Sango stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Miroku waited a moment, most likely so that he wouldn't be stuck in the same elevator with her. "I am so sorry." Inuyasha waved him away and he left, but not quite so violently.

Inuyasha sighed and put the pillow back on his head. Kagome stole it and set it on his hip so that she could lay on it. He looked up at her and she gave him a small smile. "So what movies did you guys get?" Kagome hopped up and got the movie that Sango had said Inuyasha liked and put it into the DVD player. Then she climbed back onto the couch and laid on Inuyasha's hip again. She pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and curled up in it.

When Inuyasha saw what movie it was he smiled. "Oh, this is a good one."

"Mhmm. Sango said you said it was good." Kagome yawned.

"Falling asleep already? The movie's just started." She smiled at him but didn't answer. About fifteen minutes into the movie, Inuyasha looked down and she was fast asleep.

By the time the movie was over, Inuyasha was starting to get hungry, and he was thinking about eating some of that Chinese food finally. When he tried to roll off the couch, he found himself caught. He looked back and saw that Kagome was holding onto the back of his shirt. He tried to pull away but she just tightened her grip.

Inuyasha thought for a minute and then decided that he wasn't really all that hungry. He laid back onto his back and Kagome snuggled closer to him, sliding one arm across his chest. Inuyasha wrapped one arm around her waist and settled back into the cushions. He grabbed the remote and turned the television off, but couldn't reach the lights. He could live with that. He smiled to himself, and soon, he was asleep.

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There was a loud, obnoxious noise right next to her head. Kagome couldn't figure it out. She reached out and grabbed at it, squinting. It was a cell phone. Kagome frowned. How did she make it shut up?

Another hand came into her vision and took the phone away, flipped it open and pushed a button. The noise stopped. Kagome laid back down and pulled the blanket up.

"I have to get up now."

Kagome frowned again. "So get up. I'm sleeping." She heard him laugh at her. She didn't see what was so funny. She sat up to glare at him and saw him looking up at her, looking rather amused. "Oh." She had quite obviously been sleeping _on top of_ Inuyasha. Kagome blushed and moved back so that he could get up.

He stood up, tousling her hair as he did so. "Oh," he mocked, with a slight laugh.

She ignored him and laid back down. "Aw, now my pillow's gone." A pillow came flying across the room and hit her in the head. It bounced off and landed on the floor. "Thanks." She scooped it up and stuck it under her head, but she still couldn't get comfortable. She was still shifting around looking for a comfy position when Inuyasha came back out of his room.

"Comfortable?"

She frowned at him. "No."

"Oh well. I'm off to work now." He gave her a mock salute, grabbed his keys, and left.

Kagome finally found a comfortable position and was just starting to go to sleep again when the phone rang. She slid off the couch and grabbed at it. "Hello?"

"Kagome?" It was Sango. Kagome sighed and put the phone on speaker, climbing back onto the couch. This would take a while. "Look, Kagome, I am so sorry about last night. I didn't mean to get you so involved, I was just so mad and everything."

"Don't worry about it. Did you break up with him?"

Sango sighed. "No. But I think I'm going to have to. I can't deal with that all the time. It's aggravating."

"Well," Kagome started. Then there was a knock on the door. "Oh, what now?" The door opened and Miroku sidled into the apartment. "Do you guys have any idea what time it is?"

Miroku looked at his watch. "Oh, come on it's not that early. But wake up, I need to talk with you." Kagome kicked off the blankets and sat up with a glare. "Did you sleep in your clothes? Silly. Anyways, I need your help." He got down on his knees in front of her and put his hands together, begging.

"You are pathetic. What do you want?"

"Sango." Kagome blinked. "I think I'm going to lose her." He climbed up onto the couch next to her and leaned against the back. "You know I actually wasn't even flirting this time? I was being so good. I was just paying and then she was laughing at us for being so fat and eating all of that food on our own and then I said, no, my girlfriend was coming and then you guys showed up and I didn't know what to do because I really wasn't even flirting with her anyways, and what difference does it make? You probably don't care what I was doing."

Kagome shook her head. "No, no keep going."

Miroku sighed. "I love her, you know that? Like really, really love her. I don't know what I'll do if I lose her over something stupid like this. You know, I keep trying to be good, really I am. But it doesn't matter because she only ever sees me at all the wrong times and even if I'm not doing anything wrong she thinks I am."

"So what do you want me to do about this?" Kagome smiled. "You need to tell Sango, not me."

"I can't tell Sango, she wouldn't listen." He sat back and closed his eyes. "She'd probably just get mad at me again. That's why I need your help. She'll listen to you." Miroku looked devastated.

Kagome waited a few moments. When it was obvious that Sango was making no attempt to reveal her speaker phone position, Kagome gave it away for her. "Ok, fine. She'll listen to you, you'll have to listen to her. And then I have a favor to ask of you guys as well. You see, I have all sorts of Chinese left over in the fridge and I can't eat it all."

"What? You guys … as in plural?" Miroku scanned the room nervously.

"I don't know," Sango said. "Leftover Chinese isn't exactly my style."

There was a pause, and then Miroku jumped off the couch, screaming. "Kagome! You can't do that! Why didn't you tell me?" He grabbed a hold of her shoulders and shook her. "Why? Why? Why?"

"At. Least. She. Listened. To. You." Kagome struggled to speak as he shook her. He stopped and took a deep breath. "Now it's your turn. Listen to her." Kagome handed Miroku the phone and then went into her room to change.

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When Inuyasha came home from work that day, the three of them were curled up on the couch together, watching Charlie's Angels. They squeezed together to make room and Inuyasha sat down at the end next to Kagome.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and whispered into her ear. "I don't know how you did it, but congratulations."

Kagome smiled back. "Thank you." And she settled on his shoulder to watch the movie.

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Ok! Yay! Another chapter! Sorry that it took so long, I've been pretty busy lately. But I've got some down time now, so I'll try to write a couple of chapters while I have the chance. Don't hold your breath though.

I got my first review, from my sister, so here it is:

Awwwwwwwww… the cutest WAFFy little chappie I've seen in a while. –Dea Mariella


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Disclaimer: Bat slushies.**

"Yay! I'm so excited!" Kagome practically danced around the tree with the box of ornaments, strategically placing each one. She emptied one box, and Inuyasha took it from her, handing her a full one. "I haven't had a Christmas tree in years!"

Miroku handed her the star topper. "You want to put the star up?" She took it with a smile and hurried over to the tree, reaching up to put the star in place.

It was readily apparent that Kagome was too short for the tree. She waited a moment, then tried jumping, but still couldn't reach it. She frowned. Inuyasha went to take the star, but Kagome grabbed it protectively. "I want to do it! I'll just have to get a chair or something." She glanced around for the nearest chair and found herself surrounded by ornament boxes, presents, and random furniture that had to be moved to accommodate the tree.

"Would you like some help?" Inuyasha asked wryly. Kagome sighed and went to hand over the star, but Inuyasha just bent down, grabbed Kagome, and lifted her up. She shrieked, and Inuyasha laughed at her. "Can you reach now?" Kagome leaned forward and placed the star on top with a smile.

"You are extremely short," Miroku said. "Do you plan on growing any time soon?"

"No, I like her like this," Inuyasha said. He rested his arm on her shoulder. "She's like the perfect height for an arm rest." Kagome ducked away from his arm and stuck her tongue out at them.

There was a knock at the door, and Kagome scrambled around the boxes and ran to answer it. She opened the door, and Sesshoumaru was standing there. "Merry Christmas!"

Miroku and Inuyasha turned to see who it was and froze. It was like a hallmark card, the two of them standing in the open doorway, surrounded by Christmas decorations, and hanging just above their head (or a couple of feet above, in Kagome's case) was the mistletoe. Miroku grabbed a camera and snapped a picture.

Kagome turned toward him in confusion. "What was that for?" Miroku pointed up and she looked to see what he was pointing at. "Oh. Oh! It's mistletoe!" She blushed, but turned back to Sesshoumaru. "You know what that means."

He did not look amused. "I don't do mistletoe."

"You have to! It's the law!"

"Kagome, there is no law about-" She reached up and wrapped her arms around Sesshoumaru's neck. She pulled him towards her and kissed him on the cheek. There was a bright flash and Inuyasha scurried over to Miroku. They looked into the display on the camera and smiled. Miroku held his hand up and Inuyasha dutifully high-fived it.

Sesshoumaru detached himself from Kagome and stood up. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" She stepped back and he walked into the apartment. He went over to the dining room table and motioned for Kagome to sit.

There was another knock on the door, and Miroku ran to answer it, strategically placing himself under the mistletoe. Luckily for him, it was Sango.

Sesshoumaru handed Kagome a manila folder. He heard laughing in the background and turned to see Sango looking at the camera display with a big grin. Kagome opened the folder and froze. It had her picture. Her school picture. She flipped through the pages. There were pictures of her and her friends, names of places where she usually hung out. "What is this?"

"It's your file. You're a missing person, you know that, right?"

Inuyasha snuck up behind Kagome and grabbed one of the papers. "Oh, this thing lies. You're not five-two."

Kagome grabbed it from his hand. "I'm five-two and a half, thank you." She scanned the pages. "I don't get it. What are you doing with this, then?"

"Nothing." Kagome and Inuyasha looked at him in surprise. "I'm going to continue to say that I have never seen you before in my life and that I have no idea about your whereabouts."

"Is that legal?" Sesshoumaru didn't answer. Kagome was looking at one of the pictures of her with her friends. "So you're going to let me stay here, and then lie to the police and say you have no idea where I am?" He nodded. Kagome flashed him a massive smile. "Thank you." She jumped up and hugged him.

He put his arms up and slowly moved her away. "You're welcome. Please stop that." He started gathering the file and putting it back in the folder. "I need to take this back to the station, though."

Inuyasha grabbed one picture. Kagome was sitting in a wheelbarrow with a colander on her head and pillows tied around her chest like armor. She was holding a fake sword and shield. Pulling the wheelbarrow was a boy with a hat that Inuyasha guessed was supposed to look like a horse's head. A couple other kids were dressed like Kagome and they appeared to be attacking her 'chariot.' Inuyasha held the picture up. "Oh, I think we should frame this one and hang it on the wall."

Miroku snuck up and checked it out. "Now that is just too cute."

Kagome stood up on her chair to look over his shoulder and see it. She giggled. "Souta was so upset that we made him be the horse. That was fun. I didn't know we had any pictures of that."

Sesshoumaru debated for a moment. Compared to the trouble he would get into if he was caught knowing Kagome, the trouble from 'losing' a photograph was nothing. He picked up the folder with the rest of the papers and nodded slightly at them. "Merry Christmas." Then he let himself out of the apartment.

No one moved for a minute, then Kagome hugged Inuyasha tightly. "He's not sending me back!"

Inuyasha grinned at her. "Were you worried?"

"Of course I worried. Don't be silly. I don't want to go back." She went over to the digital camera to look at the pictures of her and Sesshoumaru. She looked at the one where she was kissing him and she frowned. Kagome zoomed in. "He's smiling."

"No, he's not." Inuyasha took the camera from her and peered at it incredulously. "Oh my god, he is."

Miroku wrapped his arm around Kagome's shoulders. "He was being kissed by a gorgeous girl, who wouldn't smile at that?"

Sango called them from the living room. "Charlie Brown's Christmas is on!"

"That movie is so lame," Inuyasha said, but he sat down on the couch next to Sango and Miroku, anyway. Kagome sat on the floor and leaned back against the couch.

"You have to watch this movie. It's Christmas."

"It's actually not Christmas until tomorrow," Miroku objected, but Kagome shook her head. It was already Christmas for her. "You guys should give Sesshoumaru a copy of that picture for his present."

Inuyasha laughed. "Poster sized so you can see his smile."

Sango thought for a moment. "I know where you can print it."

They all looked to Kagome, and she grinned. "Let's do it."

WMWMWMWMWMWMW

AN: Yeah, this chapter's another short one. Oh, well. I was going through all my old chapters. 11 of the disclaimers actually referenced Inuyasha. I wonder what happened… Anyways, enjoy!


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**Disclaimer: I'm at a loss.**

WMWMWMWMWMWMW

"Merry Christmas, Kagome!" They came rushing through the open door, struggling to carry a large box between the two of them.

"Don't hold it so high, Rin, I can't reach!" Shippou stood on his tiptoes to try to put the box as high as Rin had it. Kagome took it from them with a big smile and then gave both of the kids a hug.

Sesshoumaru glanced up, saw that the mistletoe was still in place, and decided to stay in the hallway.

"Thanks so much!" Kagome smiled at him. "Merry Christmas, Sesshoumaru!"

She heard a scream behind her. "Rin! Look! We've got presents!" Kagome laughed. "Wait until I'm over there before you open them, ok?"

Sesshoumaru brushed some snow off his coat. "I may have to work late today," he said. "I might not get here until after 8. Is it alright if they eat dinner here tonight?"

Kagome nodded. "Of course. You know they're never any trouble."

He nodded, thanked her, and then left. Kagome shut the door and went over to the couch. Rin and Shippou were sitting on the floor, their presents on their laps. "Ok, so who should open their present first?" She pretended to think for a minute. "I think Rin should go first, and then Shippou can open one, and we can take turns."

Rin picked a present and opened it carefully, peeling the tape off the paper slowly so it didn't rip. Finally, she peeked inside and smiled. She pulled out a set of flannel pajamas with bunnies on them. "I love bunnies!"

Seeing that her present was open, Shippou jumped on one of his, sending paper flying in all directions. His were pajamas, too. "Foxes!" He held them up to see what they would look like on.

Rin dragged the big box over to the couch. "Your turn, Kagome!" She smiled and ripped the paper off. They had gotten Kagome a big fuzzy blanket that was extremely blue, a pair of slippers shaped like cats, tail and all (AN: I own these, they rock) and a game of checkers. Shippou and Rin got coloring books, the type of crayons that are shaped like pencils and twist up when you need more ( I don't know what they're called) and a couple of books.

Rin was sitting on the floor, slowly flipping through the pages of her book. "I can't read."

Kagome went and sat next to her. "How old are you, Rin?"

"Six."

"How come you're not in school?"

Rin didn't say anything, but Shippou answered for her. "She went to school once, but she wouldn't talk to anybody so Daddy said she could stay home."

"Don't you want to go to school? School is fun, you get to make new friends, and whenever someone has a birthday they bring in cupcakes for the whole class." She sighed. "I wish I was still in school. I dropped out when I ran away from home."

"I want to go to school." Rin shut her book. "But all the other kids will know more than me."

Kagome smiled at her. "Let's make a deal, ok? I'll try to teach you how to read. You can learn, too, Shippou, if you want. But in return, Rin, you have to talk to people, ok? It's ok if you start slow. But, like you know Inuyasha. You know Miroku. You can talk to them." Rin frowned. "I know your Dad would be very proud of you. It would make him very happy."

Rin nodded.

Kagome smiled. "Ok, Shippou, come on over. You want to learn how to read, too?" He scurried over and snuggled under Kagome's blanket with her. She picked a book off the floor and opened it up. "This book is my favorite. One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish."

WMWMWMWMWMWMW

When Inuyasha came home, it looked like a tornado had hit his living room. Wrapping paper was everywhere, and crayons and coloring books were left in piles around the room. In the middle, Kagome was playing checkers against Shippou and Rin. It looked like she was losing.

"Sesshoumaru is still working?"

Kagome looked up at him and smiled. "Hey! No, he said he was going to be working late. Can you cook dinner?"

He frowned. "I can make spaghetti." Shippou jumped over one of Kagome's checkers and took it off the board triumphantly, landing his piece at her edge of the board.

Kagome sighed and turned Shippou's checker into a king. "Do we have ziti instead?"

Inuyasha checked the cupboard. "Yeah, we've got some. I can make that." He looked back into the living room to see Rin take another piece off the board.

"You keep losing, Kagome!" Shippou said. "You need to try harder. Let's play again."

Inuyasha smiled, then put some water on the stove to boil. By the time they had finished their game, dinner was ready, so they went over and sat at the table. Inuyasha brought them their plates. "Thank you, Inuyasha," Kagome said, giving Shippou a look.

He sighed. "Thank you, Uncle Inu."

Rin nodded. "Th-thank you, Uncle Inu." Inuyasha looked surprised, but all he said was, "You're welcome," and then he sat down.

"So what did you guys do today?"

"Mm mmphm mmmph."

Inuyasha laughed. "Don't talk with your mouth full," Kagome said, giving Inuyasha a glare.

Shippou chewed for a minute, then tried again. "We opened presents!"

Inuyasha looked into the living room. "Yeah, I can see that. Did you like your presents?"

They nodded. "Kagome's going to teach us how to read!"

He raised one eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

Shippou opened his mouth to say something else, but Kagome pointed her fork at him. "Shippou, eat your dinner." He turned back to his food sheepishly.

They ate for a little bit in silence, then there was a knock on the door. "Daddy's here!" Shippou started to get up, but Kagome stopped him. "Two more bites, Ship. You, too, Rin." They ate two more forkfuls quickly and then jumped up and ran over to their father.

"Look at what Kagome gave us, Daddy!" They showed him the pajamas and coloring books excitedly.

"Why don't you guys help Kagome clean up all this paper before we go, ok?" Sesshoumaru sent them off to get a trash bag. His phone rang, and he pulled it out and answered it. "Hello? Alright." He looked up and caught Kagome's eye. "I'll be right there." Kagome frowned slightly, then pulled Shippou and Rin towards her and whispered something to them. Their faces lit up and they went running over to their Dad.

"Daddy, can we please sleep over here tonight?" They smiled extra big. "We've already got pajamas!" Shippou added.

"Hm. I don't know," Sesshoumaru said. "Have you two been good?" They nodded furiously. "Well, I suppose if it's alright with Kagome …"

They jumped away, cheering. "If you're sleeping over, you have to finish your dinner, though!" Kagome added, and they ran away to the kitchen.

"Thank you, Kagome." Sesshoumaru headed to the door. "And you, Inuyasha."

He shrugged. "It's not like I had a choice." He opened the door for his brother. "See you later."

Inuyasha turned back to Kagome and she gave him a big smile. "Thank you, Inuyasha."

He walked over to her with his hands on his hips. "Sleepovers, huh?" Kagome just kept grinning. "Fine. But I am not cooking you breakfast."

WMWMWMWMWMWMW

AN: Whoo! It's finally done! I am so very sorry that it has taken me so long to put this up. (Just took three hours to write this…doesn't usually take that long…) I have been so busy lately with school and everything that I just haven't gotten a chance to do anything. But here it is, I'll try not to wait too long before I put up the next chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed!


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**Disclaimer: I am a freshman this year. I hope you can all understand why I haven't been able to update. I'm very sorry. :(**

Kagome had agreed to let the kids stay up and watch a movie because she knew that they would never be able to stay awake. Sure enough, they were asleep within half an hour. Thank god she had made them put their pajamas on first.

She carried Shippou into her room and tucked him into bed. She turned to go get Rin and found Inuyasha in the doorway, carrying her in. Kagome smiled at him.

As she tucked Rin in, her eyes fluttered open. "I don't want to go to bed."

"Shh. Close your eyes." Kagome brushed Rin's hair out of her face.

But now Shippou woke up and rolled over to look at her. "Will you tell us a story?" Kagome sighed. "Please?"

"Alright, but you have to close your eyes while you listen, alright?" They nodded and snuggled in. "Once upon a time …"

Inuyasha leaned against the doorway and watched her. They had been watching the movie Little Mermaid, so Kagome told them that story. He noticed, however, that as soon as the kids were asleep she moved away from the Disney version and into the Hans Christian Andersen version. It didn't seem like the greatest bedtime story to Inuyasha.

Kagome finished the story and sat for a moment on the edge of her bed, looking out her window. Then, with a sigh, she tucked the kids in again, kissed each of them on the forehead, and got up.

She was surprised to see Inuyasha, still leaning against the doorframe, but she didn't say anything. She shooed him out of the way and shut the door behind her as she walked out. "What's up?"

"I was listening to your bedtime story. It's rather tragic, isn't it?" Kagome yawned. Inuyasha laughed at her. "Do I have to carry you to bed, too?"

She stretched, putting her arms around his neck as she did so. "Aw, are you going to tuck me in? Tell me a story?"

Inuyasha sighed, looking down at her for a minute. Then he smiled, picked her up, and carried her into the living room. "I don't know any good stories, though, sorry." He laid her down on the couch and tucked her in under her new blue blanket. Kagome smiled. "Are you going to be warm enough?"

She nodded. "I think so." Inuyasha stood up. "What about my story?"

"Not tonight." He leaned down and kissed her softly on the forehead. Kagome blushed slightly and he smiled. "Goodnight, Kagome."

"Goodnight."

**WMWMWMWMWMWMW**

Inuyasha was trying to eat breakfast as quietly as possible so that he didn't wake Kagome. So he was quite upset when there was a loud knock on the door, followed by it getting thrown open and Miroku stomping in, shaking snow off his jacket.

"What are you doing here this early? And be quiet or you'll wake Kagome up."

Miroku took his jacket off, shivering, and hung it over the back of a chair. "The heat in my apartment broke last night. My landlord says it won't be fixed until later tonight, but it's freezing because one of my windows is cracked so it let all the heat out. So I figured I'd just come here and sleep on the couch."

Inuyasha shook his head. "Kagome's on the couch."

He frowned. "Hm. Think she'd mind if I slept in her room for a bit?"

"Uh, yeah, her room's off-limits right now. Sleep in my room, I don't care."

"Ew, no. I'm not sleeping in another guy's bed! That's just creepy!"

Inuyasha stood up slowly, shaking his head. "Grow up, ok?" He headed into the living room, with Miroku trailing close behind, muttering about sleeping on the floor. Inuyasha pulled Kagome's blankets off and slipped his arm around her shoulders. She woke up and started reaching for her blanket again, but Inuyasha picked her up before she could reach.

"What are you doing?"

"Miroku needs the couch to sleep, so I'm moving you to my room."

"Why can't he use your room?" She leaned against Inuyasha and glared at Miroku as he climbed into her spot, burrowing into the blankets with a sigh.

"I'll make you breakfast, Gome-love, I swear."

Inuyasha tucked her into his bed. "Breakfast had better be yummy," she muttered. Inuyasha smiled. "See you later."

When Inuyasha left, Miroku was already asleep.

**WMWMWMWMWMWMW**

Shippou sat up in bed, wide awake. The sun was up. "Rin, are you awake?"

She sat up, too, and nodded. "I was waiting for you to wake up."

"I was waiting for you to wake up! You want to go see if Kagome's awake? I want breakfast." Rin nodded, and they both climbed out of bed and ran across the room. Rin opened the door and Shippou shot out into the hallway. No one was up yet. He ran over to the couch and started shaking the body that was sleeping on it.

"Kagome! Wake up, it's morning!" Miroku groaned and rolled over. "You're not Kagome!"

Miroku frowned. "Hey, guys, how long have you been here?" He sat up and stretched, taking in their pajamas. "Oh, did you spend the night here?" They nodded. "And I'll bet you want breakfast, huh?"

Miroku stood up slowly, stretching out again. "Ok. Well, I told Kagome that I would make her breakfast, so I suppose …"

"I want WAFFLES!!" Shippou almost screamed it, and Miroku had to shush him. "Don't wake Kagome up yet. But I can make waffles." He shooed them into the kitchen. "Does Inuyasha have a waffle iron?"

**WMWMWMWMWMWMW**

Kagome woke up. There were a few things she noticed. First was that she was in a bed, and it was nice and comfy, and it smelled like Inuyasha. Second, she could hear singing coming from somewhere in the house. Third, she could smell … wait … was that WAFFLES?

Kagome sat up. That was definitely waffles. She went down the hall to her room and brushed her hair quick, and then went out into the kitchen. Shippou and Rin were sitting on the table, singing Christmas carols, and Miroku was at the counter, making waffles.

"Oh, hey Kagome. I hope we didn't wake you up." He turned back to the kids. "Quick, get down!" They scurried off the table and sat on chairs, instead. "We were singing."

"I noticed. So were you just going to let me sleep all day?" Miroku opened his mouth to answer, but Kagome cut him off. "Oh, I get it, you just wanted to eat all the waffles by yourself, huh?"

"I wanted to wake you up," Rin said. "But they wouldn't let me."

Kagome grabbed some plates out of the cabinet with a smile. "That's alright, Rin." She set the table and Miroku put the plate of waffles in the middle and got the syrup out of the fridge.

"So," Miroku said, sitting down, "they tell me that you're teaching them how to read. They were spelling stuff for me all morning. They're really good." Rin and Shippou beamed. "When I was first learning how to read, I couldn't spell anything."

"I'm somehow not surprised," Kagome murmured.

"Shut up and eat your waffles."

After breakfast, Kagome sent Rin and Shippou into the bathroom to wash their hands and started to clean up the table. Miroku waited until they were out of earshot before he spoke. "So when did Rin start talking again?"

"Oh, she was talking to you? Good. We made a deal that if she would try to start talking I would teach her how to read so she can go back to school and not be behind everyone." She put the dishes in the dishwasher and shut the door. "I figured she sees you enough, she should be able to talk to you, at least."

Shippou came running back out, Rin following a bit behind. Kagome handed him a sponge and told him to wipe down the table. Rin put away the syrup. "Can we read some more today, Kagome?" She nodded, and Rin ran out to the living room and grabbed a book. "Let's read this one!"

Miroku laughed. "Man, I don't think I ever wanted to learn that much. But then again, I didn't have a hot teacher like you."

Kagome's jaw dropped. "Miroku, are you hitting on me? Because I'm sorry, but you're just not my type."

"Aww … you're no fun."

**WMWMWMWMWMWMW**

Kagome and Shippou were playing checkers. She was losing. Miroku was sitting on the couch with Rin, reading One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish again. Miroku kept making fun of the pictures. "That fish has a better car than me!" "Hey, look how many feet that one has! I bet he has to pay a lot for shoes!" Rin ignored him.

"Some are fast. And … some are slow … some are h … higuh?"

"No, remember, in that word you don't hear the g."

She nodded. "H … high? And some are looow."

Miroku turned the page. He heard a key in the lock. "Hey, I think Inuyasha's home. Oh that's a cool fish … I used to have a fish like that."

Rin laughed. "No, that's not a real fish!" She looked at the page. "Not one of th … them is like … a-nuh-th-ther … another …Don't ask us … why?" She looked up at Miroku for confirmation, and he nodded. "Don't ask us why … go ask your … mmm … moth … mother."

"Hey, Miroku. I'm surprised you're still here." Inuyasha walked in and sat down in the chair. "Having fun?"

Miroku pointed a finger at him. "It's Dr. Seuss, Yash. Don't diss the doctor." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Shippou jumped Kagome's last checker. "Oh, now that is a nice fish." Rin giggled.

"Say! L … look at his … f … fin … fing … finger … fingers? Look at his fingers. One, two, three … How m … many … fingers … do I see?" She smiled.

Kagome sat up. "I lost again." Shippou nodded. Then he jumped up and ran over towards the doorway. "Daddy!" Everyone froze. Slowly, they turned. Sesshoumaru was standing near the doorway with an odd expression on his face.

"Sesshoumaru's here," Inuyasha added helpfully. Kagome glared at him.

"Hey, Daddy," Rin said after a moment. "Kagome and Uncle Inu gave us books for Christmas."

He walked over and looked at the book. Miroku tried to melt into the couch. "I see that. You can read well. Good job." She beamed. "Why don't you get your stuff together so we can go home?" Rin nodded and jumped off the couch. Sesshoumaru turned to Kagome.

"Um … Merry Christmas? I um … well … Rin says she wants to go back to school, but she was afraid to go back because everyone would know more than her. So I told her that I would try to teach her how to read but she had to promise to start talking to people and she did and I started teaching her and Shippou yesterday and she's really good and she's learning really fast and she's been talking to Miroku all day …" She said it all in one breath, speeding up. Inuyasha held his hands up and shushed her.

Sesshoumaru waited a moment. When Kagome stopped, he smiled at her. "Thank you."

"I can read, too!" Shippou came running over.

"I'll bet you can. Now where's your coat?" Kagome got up and went to help them into their jackets.

She put their presents into a bag and put her boots on. "I'll help you bring them out," she said. She gave Rin her boots to put on, grabbed her mittens, and then they headed out.

"Man, Yash, you are lucky. Living alone with a hot chick …"

"Kagome's not hot."

Miroku's jaw dropped. "What? How can you say that? She is very attractive, admit it."

Inuyasha turned to him. "No, she's gorgeous, but she's not hot. Hot isn't necessarily a compliment, you know." He shook his head and turned away. "No, she's not hot."

Miroku watched him, and realization hit. "You like her." Inuyasha frowned at him. "Oh my god, Yash, you like her." He didn't answer. Miroku smiled. "Good luck."

After a minute, there was a knock on the door. "Can you let me in?"

Miroku ran over to the door. "Aww … did Kagome forget her key?"

"Let me in or I won't make you dinner!" He opened the door. "Thank you." She shivered. "I forgot my coat, too, apparently."

Miroku laughed. "Silly. Go get under your blanket. It's nice." She took her boots off, ran over and curled up on the couch. "Inuyasha's pouting because they took the Dr. Seuss books away."

"What's wrong? Can't you recite them from memory by now?" Miroku laughed. "I'll make dinner in a minute. Can you go heat the oven? I'm going to make baked potatoes." He nodded and went out into the kitchen.

"Inuyasha?" He looked up. "Are you ok? Is something wrong?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I can't believe Rin picked up reading so fast. And she was just sitting there, chatting with Miroku." He smiled. "I don't think I've heard her talk in years." He sighed. "She really likes you, they both do. If it weren't for you, I don't know if she ever would have started talking again." Kagome's eyes grew wide and she looked away.

"Kagome, where are the potatoes?"

"They're in the cabinet under the sink!" She got up and went into the kitchen.

Inuyasha sat in the living room for a while, staring at the Christmas tree. "Goddamnit," he said. "I hate it when he's right."

**WMWMWMWMWMWMW**

AN: Whoo, another chapter!! So I was thinking (scary, I know) and I was like, 'Does Kagome babysit for free?' And I was like, silly me, I never figured that out! So I decided, Sesshoumaru must pay Inuyasha. Inuyasha then keeps some of the money to pay for groceries (them kids sure do eat a lot) and then gives the rest to Kagome so she can have spending money or whatever.

Anyways, thanks to everyone who reviewed!! I'll try not to wait too long before I post the next chapter!


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**Disclaimer: It is so windy out … it's kinda scary actually.**

Sango stormed into the apartment. Kagome shut the door behind her, watching her march into the living room, where Miroku and Inuyasha sat on the couch.

"Alright, boys, here's the deal." Sango turned the TV off and stood in front of them, hands on her hips. Inuyasha and Miroku stared at her, game controllers in hand. Wisely, they said nothing.

"This year, for New Year's, you are going to take us out." She held up one hand to stop their answers. "And I don't mean just out to some bar or to some lame party, I mean you are going to take us to a restaurant, and you're going to buy us dinner. A nice restaurant."

"I take it you have one in mind?"

"I have in fact made reservations at Maurice's for 6:30 on New Year's Eve."

The guys froze. "Maur … Maurice's?" Miroku looked like he was going into shock. "Did you browse the menus to find the most expensive?"

Sango nodded. "Of course I did. Now, Kagome and I are going to go shopping and get dresses. And shoes. And probably purses. You boys have fun." Kagome ran to get her coat and her purse. On their way out, Sango turned back over her shoulder. "Oh, and Inuyasha? You'll be wearing a tie."

**WMWMWMWMWMWMW**

"Well," Sango said once they were in the car, "I think that went rather well."

Kagome laughed. "So, where are we going?"

"We need to get you a dress. I have a dress that I'm making, and I'm almost done with it, so I should be finished in time to wear it, but I don't have anything for you. Besides, we need to get you something special. So, there's this boutique that I know of, and I think it would be perfect. They usually have some of the cutest little dresses."

She smiled. "Sounds like a plan to me."

The boutique was very small, but as soon as they walked in, they were greeted by a saleswoman. She looked Kagome over for a minute, found her a short, dark blue dress, and sent her into the dressing room.

The dress was a V-neck, and fit her nicely. The skirt flared out and swung as she walked. But Kagome didn't like it. "The neckline goes too low. I feel like I'll fall out."

The woman handed her another dress, this one in green. It had spaghetti straps and the waist was scrunched. It also had glitter in the fabric. It didn't pass. Neither did the next five.

"I don't know what the problem is, Kagome," Sango said. "You look adorable. Those dresses look great on you. They all fit you perfect, the colors look great. What more do you want?"

"I feel … I feel like a little girl going to a school dance in one of these dresses. And I don't want to feel like that."

The saleswoman apologized. "I'm sorry. You look so young, I didn't want to give you a dress that was too sexy for your age."

Kagome shook her head. "No, you were right. I'm only sixteen. But … I don't want to be sixteen anymore. I don't want to be a little kid. I want to look like an adult. Is that too much to ask?"

Sango shook her head. "No, it's not." She turned to the saleswoman. "Where are the black dresses? I think we need to browse."

The woman smiled knowingly and showed them into the other room. She pointed out the racks which would fit Kagome, and the girls started browsing. They picked out a few favorites and sent Kagome back into the dressing room again. Sango and the saleswoman waited outside the door.

"Come on, Kagome. What's taking you so long?"

"The neckline … it's a halter. Hang on …" She stopped, staring in the mirror. "Sango? I've found it." She opened the door triumphantly and stepped out.

Sango gasped. "It's perfect."

**WMWMWMWMWMWMW**

Miroku and Inuyasha stood in the foyer at Maurice's, waiting. Inuyasha checked his watch. "They're late."

"Of course they are. They've probably been fixing their hair for the past hour." Miroku saw Sango walking in. "There they are. I'll go tell the host."

"Hi, Yash, sorry we're late." Sango beamed at him. "What should we do with our coats?"

He walked behind her and helped her out of her jacket. "There's a coat check where you can leave them. I can take them for you." He helped Kagome with hers as well and then went to drop them off.

Kagome looked around. "Wow. This place is gorgeous."

"That's why it's so expensive," Miroku said, walking back up. "Our table is ready, so once Yash is back, we can go." He stopped to take a look at them. "You ladies are looking quite lovely tonight." He put one hand on Sango's waist. "I like this dress."

Sango's dress was made of red crushed velvet. It had triangular straps that were wide on top and narrowed where they connected to the bodice. The bodice was corseted, so it fit her perfectly. The skirt was fitted, and short. She was also wearing four-inch heels. Her hair was curled, and fell loose onto her shoulders.

Inuyasha came back to them, putting the ticket for the coat check in his pocket. "Alright, so are we all set, then?" He looked up, saw Kagome, and froze.

Kagome's dress was tight-fitting, showing off her slim figure. It was a halter, leaving her shoulders bare, with a low back, and a diamond-shaped cutout in the front. Her skirt was also fitted, ending a couple inches above her knees with a bit of black lace on the bottom of the hem. Her hair was pulled up into a twist, and Sango had done her makeup so that it looked natural, enhancing her natural beauty. The black dress set off her pale skin perfectly. The only jewelry she wore was a plain silver bracelet and diamond earrings.

After a moment, Kagome started to blush. "Is something wrong?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "No, no. You look beautiful." Kagome blushed harder and looked away, wringing the strap on her purse nervously.

The host came over with menus, and they followed him to their table. Kagome and Sango sat next to each other, with Miroku next to Sango and Inuyasha on Kagome's other side. Kagome spent much of the dinner staring around the room, wide-eyed. It was the most beautiful restaurant she had ever seen in her life. Everyone was dressed up. There was an orchestra and a dance floor, and she watched people dancing while she ate.

When Miroku asked for the check, Kagome was kinda upset. She didn't want to leave yet. Then he said, "I've got a surprise for you ladies. You'll love it. You'll follow me?"

They nodded. "A surprise? I'm excited." They all got up and went out to the foyer. Kagome and Sango stood together while the men went to get their jackets.

"Kagome?" She turned. There was Kouga, a woman on his arm, staring wide-eyed at her. "Wow, Kagome, you look amazing." He sounded shocked, as if he genuinely meant it instead of just trying to hit on her. His date frowned at him.

Kagome smiled slightly. "Yes, I know." Inuyasha came up behind her, holding out her jacket. She smiled wider at him and let him help her put her jacket on. "Happy New Year's Kouga." She turned and walked out with him staring after her.

Inuyasha shot Kouga a look, but realized that he wasn't going to do anything, so he followed Kagome out. Sango and Miroku went out with him.

**WMWMWMWMWMWMW**

"So where do you think we're going?" Kagome asked Sango once they were in the car.

"I don't know. I don't know any place that you would be able to get into, so it can't be a club or anything." She shrugged. "I guess we'll find out."

She followed Miroku to the other side of town. "Oh my god."

Kagome looked at her sharply. "What is it?"

"I think I know where we're going." She grinned, her face lighting up. "It is only the hottest club in town. I heard New Years Eve tickets sold out a month ago." She shook her head, but the smile stayed. "No way, no way he got tickets."

Miroku pulled into a parking lot, and Sango followed him, practically jumping for joy. "Miroku, please tell me you did not buy us tickets for Blacklight." He smiled, but said nothing.

They left their coats in the car, because the coat check in the club was probably already full. Inuyasha took his tie off, as well. They walked down the block, and saw a long line of people. "See, Sango, that's the Blacklight line. We are not going in it." He walked past the line, Sango sighing.

Miroku stopped at the door to the club and held his hand out to the bouncer. "Hey, Jack, how's it going?"

The bouncer turned towards him and grinned. "Miroku, my man. How have you been? Seriously man, we need to go out sometime. And Sango, looking lovely as ever." He held his arms out and Sango gave him a hug.

"Hey, Jack, Happy New Years."

He shook his head. "Not yet, babe, not yet. Couple more hours." He reached into his jacket pocket. "So, guys, I have got a Christmas present for you. Four tickets to the hottest party that ever graced this dance floor. Open bar and everything." He ripped the tickets in half and gave them their stubs.

They started to walk past, but when he saw Kagome, he stopped them. "Woah, woah, woah." She froze. "Now, I know that I am not the best of friends with you anymore, Yash, or even my man Miroku, but I can not allow you to enter without introducing me to this lovely lady here." He put his hand out. "I'm Jack. It's nice to meet you."

She smiled and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you Jack. I'm Kagome."

"Kagome. Beautiful. Just don't drink anything or you'll get me arrested. Now go on in." He waved her through the door with a smile.

Once they got inside, Kagome's jaw dropped. The place was dark, lit only by its namesake and laser lights. The dance floor was crowded, and there were people sitting down on couches in a separate room. The music was loud, but thankfully not deafeningly so. Sango threw her arms around Miroku's neck. "You are amazing!" He flashed Kagome and Inuyasha a cheesy grin.

Sango grabbed Kagome's hand and they went out into the crowded dance floor. The guys headed to the bar first. After about an hour, when they still hadn't joined them on the floor, Sango went to go get them. Kagome just kept dancing.

After a minute, a guy came over and started dancing near Kagome. She didn't really notice him until he reached out and put one hand on her waist, pulling her closer to him. Kagome jumped. She tried to pull away, but the man simply put his other arm around her and held her tighter.

She opened her mouth to say something when suddenly the man looked past her, and all the color drained from his face. He let go of her waist and put his hands up, backing away. Kagome was confused for a moment, but then she felt someone else wrap their arm around her waist from behind. She didn't even have to look to realize it was Inuyasha.

Kagome leaned back against him, held onto his arm and started dancing again. After a minute, Inuyasha put his other hand on her hip, pulling her closer and dancing with her. Miroku and Sango found them, and gave them a shocked look, but neither of them noticed. Inuyasha was leaning down, with his head down by Kagome's neck, and she was turned towards him so that her face was against his. They were both dancing with their eyes closed.

At some point during the night, Kagome had taken her hair down, and it now fell in waves down her back. Once, Inuyasha raised one hand to run his fingers through it, but then he slowly put his hand back around her waist. He pushed her away and turned her around so that she was facing him, then put both hands on her lower back, while her arms went around his neck.

Suddenly, the music died down, and they could hear people shouting.

"Ten … nine … eight …"

**WMWMWMWMWMWMW**

AN: Ta-daa!! Another lovely chapter. I hope you enjoyed!!


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**Disclaimer: Oh noes, was it a cliff-hanger? Are you excited?**

**WMWMWMWMWMWMW**

"Ten … nine … eight … seven …" Everyone had stopped dancing and was watching the plasma screens that were on the wall. The ball was slowly dropping, and the countdown was on the screen. "Six … five … four … three … two … one …"

"Happy New Year!" Everyone in the club shouted it together, and the sound was almost deafening. Then, almost instantaneously they all turned to their partners and kissed.

Kagome had forgotten the tradition. She turned to Inuyasha. He smiled, put one hand on her neck, pulled her towards him, and kissed her.

It wasn't really the fact that he kissed her that surprised Kagome. It was tradition, after all. The thing that surprised her was the kiss itself. He kissed her long and slow, and by the end of it, Kagome found herself kissing him back. When they finally broke apart, he pulled away slowly. Then he grinned. "Happy New Year," he whispered into her ear.

Sango and Miroku came up behind Kagome and each kissed her on one cheek. Sango then did the same for Inuyasha, but Miroku declined. The music started up again, and they resumed dancing.

Miroku headed to the bar, and found Jack standing by it, talking with the bartender. He smiled when he saw Miroku. "So, man, what is the deal on that girl Kagome? How old is she?"

Miroku paused. "Um … she's sixteen?"

"Six … and how old is Inuyasha? That's gotta be a major age difference."

Miroku shook his head. "No, I mean, they're not together." Jack gave him a look that said he clearly did not believe him, and then looked out onto the dance floor. From where he sat, he could see Kagome and Inuyasha quite plainly. They had their arms around each other and were dancing tightly, closer than even some of the couples were. Inuyasha leaned down and said something in Kagome's ear, and Miroku could see her laugh. "Ok, well, they're not together _yet_."

Jack laughed. "Well, I wouldn't try to set either of them up with anyone, in any case." The bartender handed Miroku his drink. "See ya round, Miroku."

**WMWMWMWMWMWMW**

Kagome felt like they had been dancing for hours, and they probably had, but she didn't care. She was enjoying herself. She had never before had the chance to dance like this with a guy. She had dropped out of school without ever going to a dance, and she was still too young to go clubbing, so this was a new experience. At the moment, Kagome was pressed against Inuyasha's side, straddling one of his legs. Her arms were wrapped around his chest, and she was holding onto his shirt. Inuyasha had one hand on her lower back, the other on her hip. She leaned her head against his chest and his arm slid up her back to hold her against him.

Inuyasha was really comfortable.

Kagome wondered if Sango and Miroku were still dancing near them, or if they had disappeared into the crowd. She didn't feel like moving away from him to look, though. She vaguely wondered if Inuyasha would kiss her again.

And then she thought about it some more.

Then Kagome really started thinking about it, and decided that she probably could get him to kiss her again if she wanted him to, all she really had to do was put her arms around his neck, look up at him and … wait … why was she thinking about this? Did she really want him to kiss her again?

Kagome sighed. She really did. That probably wasn't the best thing. She made sure to keep dancing. Dancing was good. Kagome liked dancing. Kagome liked dancing with Inuyasha. Kagome liked Inuyasha.

She sighed again. If only she could get her brain to stop thinking, then she wouldn't have to realize stuff like this.

"Are you all right?" Kagome looked up to see Inuyasha looking down at her worriedly.

She nodded. "I'm fine, just tired, that's all."

"Do you want to go home?" Kagome shook her head violently. Inuyasha smiled at her. "Ok, we can stay a little longer." She rested her head back against his chest, and he put his chin on her head.

Sango appeared out of nowhere and tapped her on the shoulder. "Can you help me with something?" Kagome nodded and followed her off the floor and into the bathroom. She turned so that her back was to the mirror. "Damn." The zipper had ripped out of the fabric of her dress, and there was now a hole where the dress was open in the middle of her back.

Kagome tried to close the fabric. "Even if I had some way to close it, I don't think I can. I think you made the dress too small, Sango."

She sighed. "I know. I cut it too small. I was hoping I could fit in it well enough to last the night …" She flipped up the bottom of her hem and undid some safety pins that were there. "I always carry pins. Do you think you could pin it?"

Kagome took the pins and thought for a moment. "Hold the front up. I'll have to unzip it." She undid the dress and started trying to pin the zipper back to the fabric.

"Are you having fun, Kagome?"

She nodded, then realized that Sango couldn't see her. "Yes, I'm having a great time. It's so much fun."

"I'm glad. You looked like you were having fun. I'm sorry to pull you away from dancing like this." She looked back over her shoulder. "Inuyasha looked like he was enjoying himself, too."

Kagome gave her a look. "Why are you looking at me like that? If you want to say something just say it." She turned back to the dress. "I think this should hold." She zipped it slowly, and the fabric stayed closed. "I wouldn't stay too much longer, though."

Sango turned and gave her a smile. "Thanks. Should we go back out to our boys?"

**WMWMWMWMWMWMW**

The boys were up by the bar again, but they weren't drinking anything. They just didn't want to keep dancing by themselves. Being as it was already 3 o'clock, they decided to go home instead of staying longer. Miroku wanted to find Jack to say goodbye, so Kagome and Inuyasha left first.

It was snowing out when they left. Kagome shivered. "Where's your coat?" Inuyasha asked her.

"Oh, it's in Sango's car." She giggled. "Everything sounds weird now because it was so loud in there."

Inuyasha put his arm around her shoulders. "At least the car is close." He looked sideways at her. "You should wear heels more often. I like you this tall."

"Right. And you should wear a suit and tie more often. You look nice in a suit."

Inuyasha thought about that for a minute. "So basically what you're saying is you're not going to wear heels?" Kagome just laughed.

**WMWMWMWMWMWMW**

Kagome was trying to get ready for bed, but she could not get the halter untied on her dress. "Inuyasha?" She went out into the hallway. "Can you help me?"

He opened his door and came out. Shirtless. Damn him. Or bless him, Kagome wasn't quite sure which at the moment. "What's wrong?"

"I can't get my dress undone." Inuyasha raised one eyebrow, making her blush. "Do you think you could untie it for me?"

He looked her up and down. "No, I think you should leave it on." Kagome gave him an exasperated look, and he smiled, motioning for her to turn around. She felt him pull on the ties, looking at the knot. "Did you have fun tonight?"

"Of course I did. Did you?"

"Of course." He said it quietly, but she could hear his smile in his voice. After a minute, her dress loosened. "There. I got it."

Kagome opened her mouth to thank him, but then he ran one hand down her spine, causing her breath to catch in her throat. He brought his hand back up and rested it on her shoulder, then leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. "Happy New Year, Kagome."

She turned towards him, eyes wide. "Happy New Year. Thank you." And she turned away and went back into her room.

**WMWMWMWMWMWMW**

AN: Oh … my … god …

Anyways, thanks to everyone who reviewed, and all the people who keep adding the story to their favorites. You guys are awesome!!


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**Disclaimer: Bow chicka wow wow**

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They were at dinner, at the restaurant where they had gone for New Year's, only this time it was just Kagome and Inuyasha. She was wearing the same dress, and Inuyasha was again in a suit coat and tie.

They hadn't received their food yet, and were just sitting quietly at the table, the candlelight flickering. Kagome could hear soft music being played in another part of the room. She looked and saw a dance floor, with a live band playing slowly.

Inuyasha followed her look and smiled. "Would you like to dance?" He stood up and walked around the table, pulling Kagome to her feet. He held her hand as he led her to the dance floor. There was no one else dancing, so they walked out to the middle of the floor and started slow dancing.

Kagome didn't know that Inuyasha could dance. They were dancing slowly, but to the music, which she knew a lot of guys still wouldn't have been able to do. She enjoyed dancing with him. With a sigh, Kagome leaned her head against his shoulder, her arms around his neck.

Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "Kagome, I need to tell you something." He leaned down, whispering in her ear. His hands ran through her hair and down her back, resting softly on the curve of her lower back.

"Kagome, I lo- BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP."

Kagome rolled over and glared at the alarm clock. When it didn't shut up from the death glare, she reached out and hit the snooze button. She sat there for a moment, dangling off the side of her bed, glaring at the time.

It was ten o'clock, a reasonable time to get up, but Kagome was still not happy about it. She lay in bed, remembering the dream, until the alarm went off again. Then she pulled herself out of bed and trudged into the bathroom to take a shower.

In the past month, Kagome had been having dreams like this one at least once a week. She wasn't really complaining, though, it was just kinda awkward confessing your love to someone in your dreams and then having to live with them during the day. And she was certainly not going to tell him.

Although …

WMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Kagome answered the door, pulling on her coat. "Hey, Sango!"

Sango smiled. "Good morning. So did you want to get anything in particular, or did you just want to go shopping?" She held the door open while Kagome zipped her coat up and put on her gloves.

"Honestly, I just want to get out of the house. Then I'll be fine." She picked up her purse, checked to make sure she had her key, and then headed out into the hall.

"I know what you mean," Sango said. "I don't know how you manage to just sit in there every day and baby-sit. I mean, they're great kids, but still." She shrugged. "I would die."

Kagome laughed and pushed the button to the elevator. "So how's your work going?" The doors opened, and they stepped inside.

"Not so great. I have a new manager now, the company was bought out. And he doesn't seem to like any of my designs. It's like he's trying to turn us into those companies that only sell t-shirts with stupid slogans in various designs."

They reached the ground floor, and Kagome waited until they were in Sango's car before she responded. "Well, we can look around today. Maybe we'll find something that can give you some ideas that Mr. New Manger Guy will like."

Sango shook her head. "I doubt Joff will like anything I show him."

Kagome grimaced. "His name is Joff? No wonder then. If my name was Joff I'd hate the world too."

WMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Stopping in front of a rack of party dresses, Kagome picked one up and squinted at it. "You know, this would almost be cute if it didn't have orange glitter on it." She held it up to herself and looked in the mirror. "The dress is pink. Could they try to clash any more?"

Sango shook her head despairingly. "I wish I could design dresses. I have a ton of drawings. But we don't do dresses."

She put the dress back with a sigh. "Maybe Joff's willing to start a new line. You know, give him a bunch of stupid t-shirts with really witty sayings, and then be like, and I also have this awesome idea for a new line, and show him your work. If he doesn't like it, maybe you can go somewhere else." She looked at her watch. "Hey, you want to go get something to eat? I'm starving."

They left the store and headed through the mall to the food court, Sango describing some of her dress ideas.

"And you know how a lot of dresses have that tulle underneath the skirt? Well, I was thinking a dark blue skirt, but the tulle is a lighter shade. And then, for the top-"

"Kagome?"

The girls stopped and turned to see who was talking to them. There was a boy standing behind them who had just come out of the game store. He was short and very skinny, with pale skin and dark hair that was in need of a trim. He looked to be about 12. Sango didn't recognize him at all.

The boy smiled. "Kagome! What are you doing here?" He took a couple cautionary steps towards her, as though he were afraid she would shy away at his approach.

"I … I was shopping." She looked between him and Sango for a moment, then stepped forward and gave him a tight hug. "Oh my god, how are you? I missed you!"

"I've missed you, too. You look good. I was so worried about you, because the detective said that he still didn't have any leads, and that in cases like this, the missing person usually doesn't ever show up again, so I was afraid that you were dead."

Kagome stepped back with a smile. "I'm not dead." She turned back to Sango. "Souta, this is Sango. Sango, this is Souta, my little brother."

Sango held her hand out. "It's nice to meet you." Souta shook her hand, and then Sango's phone rang. She sighed. "That's probably Miroku. Sorry." She walked away a little bit and answered her phone.

"I am so surprised to see you, Kagome. Do you come here often? Do you live near here?"

Kagome ignored his questions and grabbed his arm. She pushed back the sleeve and winced. There were bruises all over his arm. "What is this?"

He pulled away uneasily, and then tried to laugh it off. "You know me, I'm such a klutz. And now that it's icy outside, I keep falling all the time. It's crazy."

Kagome frowned at him, but before she could say anything, Sango came back over. "So that my boss. I have to go in for some meeting, apparently. I'm sorry."

Kagome gave her brother a hug goodbye, and then Sango drove her back home.

WMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

"So what are you doing tomorrow? Any big plans?"

Kagome turned away from the stove where she was stirring soup. "I am sleeping in late. And I am very excited about it, too."

Inuyasha laughed, leaning back in the chair. "Sounds like fun. You're not watching the kids tomorrow?"

She shook her head. "No, Sesshoumaru's not working. And don't lean back in those chairs. You'll fall over." Inuyasha shifted his weight and the chair went back down on all four legs. Kagome went into the cupboard and got out a couple of bowls, carefully ladling soup into them. She put one bowl on the table in front of Inuyasha and handed him a spoon.

He peered into the bowl. "Is this condensed soup?"

"Would you still eat it if it was?" He nodded. "Then why do you care? Just eat it."

With a shrug, Inuyasha dug into his bowl. Kagome sat down across from him. She stirred her soup slowly, staring blankly at the table with a distracted look on her face. Inuyasha watched her for a moment. "Kagome?" She didn't respond. He waved his hand in front of her face and she jerked back in surprise. "Are you all right?"

She nodded and took a spoonful of soup. "I was just thinking." Inuyasha opened his mouth to ask another question but Kagome cut him off. "About Sango. She said she's been having trouble coming up with designs her manager likes. I was trying to figure out something that might work for her."

Inuyasha gave her an odd look. "Good luck." He finished up his soup and stood up, putting the empty bowl in the sink. "I'm going to go to bed. I've got a headache. See you tomorrow."

Kagome nodded absently, still staring at the table, a slight frown on her face.

WMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Inuyasha was very happy when he got out of work. He was not feeling well at all. Almost all of his students were sick, and now he was afraid he was catching it, too. He went into his apartment and collapsed onto his couch next to Miroku with a sigh.

"Bad day?" Inuyasha just groaned. Miroku frowned at him. "Wasn't Kagome with you?"

He sat up. "What?"

"Kagome? Was she with you? I haven't seen her all day."

Inuyasha stared at him for a minute, then jumped up off the couch and went over to her room. Miroku followed him with a frown. Inuyasha knocked on the door. "Kagome?"

"I got here this morning, and I thought, maybe she was sleeping, so I didn't really try looking for her, but I've been here all day …" Inuyasha frowned and opened the door.

Her room was empty. Everything was neat and tidy, the bed was made, the desk cleared off. Miroku and Inuyasha exchanged a worried look, and then went into her room. "Maybe she's with Sango?"

Miroku shook his head. "No, she couldn't be." He sighed. "Sango got fired yesterday. She said she was going out today to look for a new job."

"That … that sucks. Kagome said last night she was having problems finding designs her manager liked …" They stood in the middle of the room, looking around aimlessly. "Where would she go, then? She wouldn't go anywhere without at least leaving a note."

Miroku took a step towards the bed, and then another. "Um, Inuyasha, I think she did." He picked up a piece of paper that had been lying on her pillow. He read it, his face a mask.

"Well? Does it say where she is?" Miroku handed him the paper wordlessly. Inuyasha read it, then again, not wanting to understand what it was saying. Miroku put one hand on his shoulder and then quietly left the room.

'Thanks so much for everything! I'm sorry. Kagome'

WMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Kagome stood on the front step, not sure whether to ring the bell. After a minute, though, the door opened from inside.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is." The door opened wider, and after a moment's hesitation, Kagome stepped inside.

WMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

AN: Well, thanks for reading!! I'll try to update relatively soon, but I'm pretty busy lately, so I don't know how long I'll be. Thanks so much to everyone who reviews, and all the people who have been adding me to their author alert and favorite story. You're awesome! Thanks!


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**Disclaimer: OMG I have chocolate!! Whoo!!**

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"Hey, Inuyasha, how's it going?" Inuyasha turned to see Rei getting out of his car behind him. Rei took one look at Inuyasha's face and sighed. "That good, huh?" Inuyasha unlocked the door and held it open for Rei. He followed the archery teacher into the center and let the door shut behind him.

Rei put one hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "Are you ok?"

He nodded. "I'm fine."

"How long ago did Kagome leave you?"

He sighed. "About three weeks…" He stopped and turned to look at Rei. "Did I … did I ever tell you that she left?"

Rei grinned. "You've been moping around for weeks. What else could it have been?"

Inuyasha thought about that for a moment. "My mom could have died." He shrugged. "I could have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. My dog could have-"

Rei held up his hands to stop him. "Alright, alright. A lot of stuff could have happened. But it didn't, did it?" Inuyasha sighed and shook his head. "Don't worry. She'll come back."

Inuyasha was about to answer him, but his phone rang. He pulled it out and flipped it open, waving to Rei as he continued on to his office. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me." Miroku. "I got a job! Isn't that great? I'm on my way to work now."

"Hey, that's awesome. Now you can move out of my apartment."

"I'm not living in your apartment! I'm just … permanently visiting."

"Whatever. Where are you working?"

"Bookstore! Yeah, books!"

Inuyasha laughed. "Can you read?" Miroku started sputtering indignantly. "How's Sango doing?"

He sighed. "She's still looking … she's not doing too good, though. That new guy was such an ass, firing her like that. You know? Not even giving her a chance to try to work in the new style they were going for."

"Don't worry about it, Miroku. She's good, she'll find someplace better."

Another sigh. "Yeah, I guess. And how about you? Any word?" Inuyasha's silence was enough. "She'll be back, Yash, don't worry. Now go have fun beating up your students. I have to go."

Inuyasha smiled as he hung up the phone. Wouldn't be long before his students started showing up. And Miroku had a point, beating them up was always fun.

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When Inuyasha got home, he was somehow not surprised to hear the television already playing. "I thought the point of you having a job was to get you _out_ of my apartment."

Miroku shrugged. "But it's lonely at my place." He looked around. "You know, we can probably fit a bed over there in the corner for me …"

Inuyasha shook his head and sat next to him on the couch. "I'll have to think about that for a bit."

"Don't think too long, I don't want to have to pay rent next month."

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Sesshoumaru parked on the side of the road and looked up at the house. After a moment, he got slowly out of the car and walked up to the front door. The steps were extremely icy, and he had to go slow. He knocked, and the door was opened for him. He entered with a nod.

"Oh, thank you so much for coming today, detective. Come, sit down. Would you like some coffee?" She smiled at him and led him into the living room.

"No, ma'am, thank you." He settled himself into the chair. "Ms. Higurashi, I'm afraid that I still have no new leads on the whereabouts of your daughter. Now, as I told you last month, there's really nothing that I can do at this point. All you can do is wait and see. I'm doing everything that I can."

She smiled brightly at him. "No, that's why I asked you to stop by. You see, Kagome's here. She came back home."

Sesshoumaru froze. "Really? How long has she been home?"

Her mother thought for a moment. "Oh dear, maybe … maybe a couple of weeks?"

"Why didn't you call us as soon as she returned?" Ms. Higurashi looked annoyed, but didn't answer. "Very well. May I please speak with her for a minute?" When she didn't move he continued. "I need to follow up with her for my records."

With a gracious smile she led him out of the living room and up the stairs. As he headed up, he saw Kagome's brother through the kitchen doorway. He looked at Sesshoumaru pleadingly.

"Kagome, honey, there's someone here to see you," her mother said brightly, knocking on the door. There was a muffled reply from within, and she opened it, stepping inside. Sesshoumaru followed.

The room was spotless. It went beyond being clean, it was almost empty looking. The desk and dressers were completely clear, the bed was made perfectly. All he could see was the bare furniture, as if no one even lived in the room. Five star hotels had more clutter in them.

Kagome was lying on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. She was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, and her hair was spread out underneath her, unbrushed. She was pale and thin, and her eyes were sunken in, with dark circles underneath them. She turned toward him after a moment, and Sesshoumaru saw that one side of her face was bruised.

She stared at him for a moment before she seemed to recognize him, and then confusion filled her face. She sat up slowly, staring at him. "Sesshoumaru? What … what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

She looked away. "This is my house. I should be here."

Sesshoumaru stepped forward and slapped her across the face. She put a hand up to her cheek, staring at him in shock, tears in her eyes. "Get out." His voice was flat, but she could hear the anger behind it. She jumped off the bed, pulled a bag out of the closet and ran past her mother, who was gaping at them. Sesshoumaru turned to her.

"Ma'am, if your daughter had really come home a couple of weeks ago, you would have called the station to inform us immediately. As it is, I can smell alcohol on your breath, so I can only assume that you've been drinking. Being as I cannot find your daughter here, and I'm sure that your son will agree that she never returned, I can only assume that that was an alcohol-induced dream." He nodded at her. "Have a nice day."

He left the room and went back down the stairs. Kagome was hugging her brother tightly. "Go get in the car, Kagome." He pushed her toward the door.

"But, Sess …"

"Now." He was yelling now.

"I need my coat." Sesshoumaru growled at her. He went to the closet, rifled through the hangers until he found her coat, and then threw it at her. "Now go." He paused for a second. "Oh, it's the silver one."

"You got a new car?" She asked excitedly, smiling. He scowled at her and she scampered out the door.

Sesshoumaru turned to Souta. "Have you seen your sister lately?"

He shook his head. "No sir, I haven't seen her in over a year." He bit his lip. "Thank you for stopping by."

Sesshoumaru looked up and saw their mother standing at the top of the stairs. She looked furious. "I am sorry." And he left.

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The car ride was silent. When they finally reached Inuyasha's apartment, Sesshoumaru stopped the car, but neither of them moved. They sat in silence for a long time before Sesshoumaru spoke. "I'm very upset with you."

"So I realized."

He glared at her. "What happened to your face?"

She put a hand up to the bruise self-consciously. "I slipped on the ice and fell on the stairs. They've been really bad this year."

"And what would you have said if it was summer?" No answer. "Kagome, the first time that I ever spoke with your brother, do you know what he said to me?" She turned toward him. "He told me that even if I did find you, I should make sure you didn't go home. He said he didn't want to see you be hurt anymore." Kagome bit her lip and turned away again. "Why did you go back?"

"For Souta. I didn't want her to hurt him."

Sesshoumaru sighed. "The both of you are crazy. What you should have done was to get him to run away, too, and then neither of you would be in that mess. And of course, now your mother will try to report that I've kidnapped you, which won't be much fun."

Kagome's eyes grew wide. "Oh no, will you get into trouble?"

"Not if they test her BAC." Kagome smiled. He opened his door and got out of the car. Kagome followed suit. They went inside and got into the elevator. "You will stay, won't you?" She nodded.

Sesshoumaru knocked on the door and then waited for Inuyasha to open it. He looked tired, but his face lit up slightly when he saw Sesshoumaru. "Hey, what are …" He saw Kagome and froze. "Kagome."

Sesshoumaru pushed her inside. "Now I'm going to call you in a few days. And?"

"And I'll be here or you'll hunt me down and slap me again."

He nodded. "If I find you there again I _will_ beat the shit out of you, is that understood?" Kagome shrank away from him, nodding furiously. "Good." He turned and walked back down the hallway.

Inuyasha shut the door and turned to Kagome. "He slapped you?" She nodded. "Is that …" He pointed at the bruise on her face.

Kagome shook her head adamantly. "Oh god, no. No, no, no. I slipped on the stairs and got that."

Inuyasha just looked at her, and Kagome could tell that he knew she was lying. Then suddenly, he stepped forward and pulled her into his arms. He hugged her tightly, putting his chin on top of her head. "I missed you, Kagome."

She wrapped her arms around his waist. "I missed you, too."

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THE END!! Of this chapter, anyways. THERE IS MORE TO COME!!

I thought about making an entire chapter without Kagome in it, just to heighten the suspense, but then I realized I hadn't updated in forever, so I figured I'd be nice to you. Inuyasha got to suffer for a bit though.

Thanks everybody for reading and reviewing!!


	22. Chapter 22

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**Chapter 22**

**Disclaimer: I'm going to Italy tomorrow!! Whoo!! **

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Miroku let himself into the apartment early in the morning. All the lights were off, and he assumed Inuyasha was still asleep. Lazy. He took off his coat and shoes and went to lay down on the couch, only to find Inuyasha on it. He scowled and plopped down in the chair instead.

"What are you doing here, Miroku?"

He shrugged, settling down into the chair and closing his eyes. "We're going out tonight, aren't we?"

"Yes. Tonight. Not now."

"Meh, so I'm a little early."

"A little? Try twelve hours or so."

Miroku opened his eyes and frowned at him. "Am I bothering you?" Inuyasha didn't say anything, but raised his head slightly to glare. Then Miroku noticed that Inuyasha wasn't alone. He looked at the long dark hair lying across Inuyasha's chest and smirked. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

"You're interrupting my sleep," a quiet voice muttered.

Miroku's eyes grew wide. Slowly he stood up and walked over to the couch. He grabbed her shoulder and turned her so that he could see her face. Then, with a shout, he picked her up in his arms and started spinning her around.

"Kagome! It's you, I can't believe you're back!" He set her back on her feet and kissed her full on the lips. Kagome struggled against him but he held her tight. "How dare you not call me the instant she came back?" he asked Inuyasha accusingly. He kissed her again, and Inuyasha pulled her away from him and held her on the couch.

"Why are you here so early?"

Miroku shrugged. "Thought you might be lonely. Guess I was wrong."

Kagome looked at her watch. "I hate you. What do you want for breakfast?" She got up and headed into the kitchen.

Miroku cheered and followed her. "And _that's_ why I'm here now. Fate has led me to my breakfast."

Inuyasha scowled. "I wish fate had led you to Denny's."

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There was a knock on the door. Miroku ran out to get it, but Inuyasha beat him. "Sango. We need to talk."

"No, you do not. Sango, don't listen to him!"

Inuyasha blocked the doorway so that Miroku couldn't see and smiled grimly. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's about Miroku. I caught him kissing another woman today." Sango's eyes narrowed and she sighed. "I wish I could have stopped him, but I didn't expect it." He paused. "Well, I stopped him the second time, at least."

Sango sighed again. "The second time? Miroku …"

"Look, honey, it's not how it sounds, I swear."

She shook her head. "You promised me, Miroku. You promised."

He got a plaintive look in his eyes. "Sango, no. I just … I couldn't help it. I was so excited … Inuyasha this is all your fault." Inuyasha blinked at him, confused. "You're just trying to get me into trouble because you're mad at me for kissing your girlfriend."

Inuyasha turned towards him. "She's not my girlfriend. Why did you say that?"

Miroku gave him a speculative look. "Awfully defensive, aren't we? Is there something you haven't told us?"

Sango crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. "What is going on?"

He held up one hand. "Hang on, this might be important." He turned back to the apartment. "Cupcake? Are you and Inuyasha going out?" He wandered away from the door, and Sango and Inuyasha couldn't hear the reply.

"Cupcake?" Sango asked. "Yash, tell me what is going on."

"We're not going out. I never said we were going out."

She frowned and then pushed past him into the apartment. "Will someone please tell me what is going on … Kagome?"

She was sitting on the floor working on a puzzle. She looked up as Sango came in and waved. "Hey. How are you?"

Sango stared at her for a moment and then ran and gave her a hug. "Kagome! It's so good to see you! Where have you been? What happened to you? Oh my god, your face, what happened? That bruise looks awful! Are you ok?"

Kagome smiled. "I'm fine, don't worry. I just slipped on some ice and fell on some stairs."

Sango gave her another tight hug, and Kagome winced. Sango let go quickly, and then look at her in confusion. Kagome wouldn't meet her eyes. "Oh, no." Sango turned Kagome around and lifted the back of her shirt a little. Her back had several large burns across it.

Miroku and Sango gasped as they saw it. Inuyasha's face was blank. "Kagome, what happened to you?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm fine." She pushed them aside and pulled her shirt back down. She turned back to her puzzle determinedly. "Weren't you guys going out?"

Miroku started to say something, but he caught Inuyasha's eye and changed his mind. "Yeah, I guess we should go before it gets too late. See you later, Kags." He took Sango's arm and led her out of the apartment.

Inuyasha knelt down next to Kagome. "Will you be alright if we go out? You sure you don't want us to just hang out here tonight?" She shook her head. He nodded. "I'll see you later, then," he said, kissing her lightly on the cheek. He stood up to go. "You should put some ointment on your back tonight."

She nodded. "Thanks." Kagome looked up and smiled at him, and he returned the smile before he left. As the door shut behind him, Kagome sighed, looking around the empty apartment. "No, Miroku. Unfortunately, the answer to your question is no."

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Thanks everyone for the reviews!! Sorry that this update is so short, but life has been hectic lately. I'll try for a longer chapter next time.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 24

**Chapter 23**

**Disclaimer: **Um … yeah.

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Kagome wasn't sure what woke her up, but since she was awake she figured that she might as well get up. She got dressed quickly and headed out of her room to find something to eat.

Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were sitting at the table, talking quietly. They fell silent as she came in, both turning to look at her.

"Good morning?" Sesshoumaru nodded at her, and Inuyasha smiled. Kagome looked at them for a moment, and then turned back towards the hallway. "I'm just gonna go back to my room. I'll talk to you guys later, then." As she left she heard them start talking again. She shook her head, confused, and then lay back down on her bed.

She was almost asleep when Inuyasha knocked on her door. He poked his head in. "Kagome? Are you awake?" She made a noncommittal noise, which he apparently took as a yes, because he came in and sat down next to her.

He was silent for a minute. Then he sighed. "How did you burn your back, Kagome?" She stiffened, but stayed silent. "And I can assume that you never really slipped on the ice, can't I? Why did you go back?"

Kagome rolled over so that she could look up at him. "I had to."

Inuyasha pushed a piece of stray hair out of her face. "Sesshoumaru said that he called Social Services on your mother. He wants to know if you're willing to testify against her." He pulled a camera out of his pocket and set it on the bed next to her.

She picked up the camera and looked at it for a minute. It was just a simple disposable camera. Kagome bit her lip, thinking, and then slowly advanced the film. She turned on the flash and handed it back to Inuyasha. "I'll testify."

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Kagome made Sesshoumaru wait a couple weeks before she would watch Rin and Shippou. She wanted to wait until the bruise on her face had faded a little, but it was still rather colorful when the kids finally came over again.

They were sitting on the floor, surrounded by coloring books, paper, and crayons when Inuyasha went to work. He patted them each on the head before he left. "Be good, kiddies!" Kagome stuck her tongue out at him.

They colored in silence for a little while, and then Shippou held up his drawing. "I'm done!"

Kagome smiled at him. "Very good, Shippou!" It looked like two houses with a bunch of people standing in front of them. "Why don't you tell me about it?"

He grinned. "This house is our house, and this house is Uncle Inu's house." He pointed at each one as he spoke. "And then this is our family. This is Daddy, and this is Uncle Inu, and this is you!"

Kagome looked at her grinning stick-figure representation. "That's very good. And are these two you and Rin?" Shippou nodded. "Who's this last person?"

He looked at it. "Oh, that's Miroku."

Kagome laughed. "I'm sure he'll be happy to know that he's a part of the family now."

Rin put her crayon down slowly. "Kagome, are you going to go away again?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not." Then she smiled. "What are you drawing, Rin?"

"It's a secret!" She ducked her head again and started coloring furiously.

There was a knock on the door and then Miroku came in. "Hey! The munchkins are back! How's it goin, guys?" Shippou ran over to show him his drawing of the 'family,' and Miroku suggested he practice his writing and write everyone's name by their stick figure. Shippou liked this idea and ran back to get another crayon.

Kagome finished coloring her coloring page while Miroku spelled everyone's name for Shippou. It was a scene from Cinderella, when she was in her ball gown, dancing with the prince. Rin finished hers, as well. She had colored a picture of the cat from Cinderella, but it was orange and blue stripes, and she had added pink wings to it.

They went out to the kitchen to hang the pictures on the fridge, which was starting to run out of room. Miroku handed her Shippou's drawing and she stopped to look at it. There they were, standing between Uncle Inu and Rin: Aunt Kagome and Uncle Miroku.

"I guess you're stuck with me," Miroku said with a grin. "We're family now." He looked at the picture for a minute, then looked down at the kids. "And somehow I don't even mind."

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When Inuyasha got home, Sesshoumaru was just picking up the kids. He squeezed through the doorway around them as they were hugging Kagome goodbye. "Bye Aunt Kagome! Bye Uncle Miroku!"

Miroku waved at them. "Bye, guys! See you soon!"

Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru looked at him. Miroku shrugged. "Hey, it wasn't my idea. Shippou started it."

Sesshoumaru ushered the kids out the door and left. Inuyasha sighed and went into the living room. "I am so tired." He collapsed onto the couch.

Kagome sat next to him. "Maybe you should go to bed?"

"That's probably best," Miroku agreed. "You go to bed and Kagome and I will go out to dinner." He took Kagome's hands to pull her to her feet, but Inuyasha wrapped an arm around her waist and held her back. Miroku raised one eyebrow at him.

"Don't you have a girlfriend that you should be taking out?"

Miroku thought about that for a minute, and then dropped Kagome's hands. "Actually … yeah, I think I'm gonna go now. See you guys later!" He ran out, grabbing his coat as he went.

"So we hung some more pictures on the fridge."

Inuyasha smiled. "Did they fit on there?"

"Sort of. I think you're going to need a bigger fridge."

"I think I'm going to need a bigger apartment, and then Miroku can just move in."

Kagome looked around the living room. "Actually, he can just sleep on the couch, and we can stick another dresser somewhere. And he does work occasionally, so he could always help with the rent." She leaned down, crossing her arms on his chest and using them as a pillow.

Inuyasha just looked at her. Slowly she blushed. "Do you really want Miroku to live here?" he asked. She shrugged, and her blush deepened. "I kinda like having some time without him."

Kagome sat up, still blushing. "I think … I think I'm gonna go make dinner." Inuyasha just smiled at her as she went into the kitchen.

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AN: Yet another lovely chapter! So I was reading back through my older chaps, just to check on the timing, and it's like the first or second week in March now.

I'm sorry about the late chapter, but I was out of the country for a month, so I didn't really get a chance to work on it. I'll try to write more often. Thanks for all the reviews!


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

**Disclaimer: I'm sitting next to an A/C vent and it is soo cold!! But there's no thermostat in here!!**

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The door of her room burst open with a loud bang. "Good morning, sunshine!!"

Kagome threw her blankets over her head, only to have them be pulled off the next second. She looked at her watch. "It's only 8:30. Why are you here?"

"Get up, get up! You have to help me move today!"

Kagome sat up and looked at him, confused. "Is Inuyasha really letting you move in here?"

Miroku sighed and sat down on the side of the bed. "Unfortunately, no. But I am moving in with Sango." He leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially. "I think she's just jealous of all our alone time."

She groaned and tried to lay back down. "She can take it, I just want to sleep."

Miroku picked her up and set her on her feet in front of her dresser. "Now, can you dress yourself, or do I have to do it for you?" Kagome glared at him and he backed out of the room with a smile.

She came out into the living room in 10 minutes, dressed in jeans and a long sleeved shirt. Miroku handed her a cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts and a bag with a donut in it. "Hey, sleepyhead. Ready to go?" She mumbled something and sipped the coffee with a grimace. "I know, I know, but this shouldn't take too long, and maybe afterwards we can go see a movie or something."

They headed down in the elevator, Kagome nibbling on her breakfast. "I don't think I've ever been to your place."

"Not surprising, since I'm barely ever even at my place." They reached the bottom floor and went outside. Miroku held Kagome's door open for her, and then walked around the car and got in.

Kagome looked back at the car. "Do you have a u-haul or anything?"

He shook his head. "My apartment was furnished, I really don't have that much stuff." Miroku grinned at her. "I really don't need your help, I guess, just wanted the company."

She gave an exasperated sigh and shook her head. In a few minutes they got to Miroku's apartment, and went in. Kagome looked around. It was a nice apartment, but it was freezing because he shut the heat off since he was never there. All the lights were off, so the only light came from the windows.

There was one box sitting in the middle of the living room. Kagome looked at it for a minute. "I hate you."

Miroku laughed. "There's more in the other room, don't worry. I do have more stuff than that." He pointed out a small pile of boxes. "Not much, though."

It only took a couple of trips in and out of his apartment, and they managed to fit all the boxes into the car. When they got to Sango's apartment, Kohaku was wrapped up in a blanket on the couch. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

He shook his head. "I had a fever this morning, so I stayed home. Do you need any help?" Then he smiled at Kagome. "Hello, Kagome. It's nice to see you again."

Miroku pushed her towards the couch. "Go socialize. I'll get the boxes."

Kagome and Kohaku chatted for a bit while Miroku brought in his stuff. On his last trip up, Miroku was talking on his phone.

"Don't be silly," he said. "Stealing implies a taking without permission. I had permission." He walked into the other room to put the box down and came back. "I don't see your name written anywhere."

"What did you steal now?" Kagome asked.

"You." He held the phone out to her. "It's Yash."

She took the phone with surprise. "Hey."

"What are you doing?"

Kagome frowned. "At the moment? Sitting on Sango's couch, talking to Kohaku. Why? Is something wrong?"

"No. Sesshoumaru wants to know if you'll be around this Friday. He'll be off then, and he may need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"I don't know. You'll have to ask him. Look, I gotta go. I've got a class coming in now." He hung up.

Kagome stared at the phone a moment before disconnecting and handing it back to Miroku. "Is Inuyasha mad at me? He sounded like he was upset about something."

Miroku shrugged. "He's just jealous because I'm taking you on a date and he has to teach little brats all day." He pulled Kagome to her feet. "Now, let's go see a movie! Want to come, Kohaku?"

He shook his head. Kagome pointed at her watch. "There won't be any movies playing for at least another hour."

Miroku stood frozen for a minute, staring at Kagome with a blank expression on his face. Then he turned to Kohaku. "You're a ladies man, right? Where would you take a beautiful girl on a day like this?"

"Well, personally, I think that Kagome would like to see the aquarium."

Kagome smiled. "That does sound like fun."

Miroku leaned over the couch and high-fived Kohaku. "I knew you'd help me out. Sure you don't want to come along?"

"I'm sure." He smiled. "Have fun on your 'date'!"

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Kagome got home late, and Inuyasha was already home. He came out of his room when he heard the door and stood in the hallway, looking at her.

"You're rather late."

She nodded. "Miroku and I went to the aquarium, and then we went to go see a movie, but the one we wanted to play wasn't playing for a couple hours because we had just missed one showing, so then we watched that, and then we went to dinner."

"Sounds like fun."

Kagome smiled. "Are you jealous?"

"Why should I be jealous?" He looked worried.

"Oh, you know. Because the aquarium is really cool, and the movie was good, too. And I bet that you just had ramen for dinner, but I got to eat at a restaurant."

"Oh." Inuyasha relaxed. "Then I'm definitely jealous. Did you bring me any leftovers?"

"No. If you're so jealous and you want good food, then take me out yourself." She went to walk past him, but Inuyasha put out an arm and stopped her.

"Alright. Let's go out tomorrow."

She looked up at him. "All-alright"

He grinned. "Good. It's a date, then." He let her go, and she went into her room, blushing.

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**AN: Yay! It's a date! Thanks so much for reading my story and for all the reviews!!**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

**Disclaimer: Watching movies … mmmm Sean Connery.**

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Kagome nervously brushed her hair. It had taken her forever to find an outfit. It might have helped in Inuyasha had ever told her where she was going, but noooo, couldn't do that. She had eventually decided on a skirt and sweater that wasn't too dressy, but wasn't too casual, either. She put her brush down on her dresser and sighed. Inuyasha couldn't possibly want to take her somewhere too fancy, could he?

She gave up, grabbed a book, and went out on the couch, trying to look as though she were just sprawled nonchalantly without actually wrinkling her skirt. It was harder than she had expected.

She heard Inuyasha's key in the door and exerted all of her willpower not to look up immediately. Instead she waited, pretending to read a bit more, until he had come into the living room. Then she looked up.

He didn't look very happy. "What's wrong?"

"Sesshoumaru called." Her face fell slightly and she shut her book. "He wants to know if you could watch Rin and Shippou for a couple nights. He has to go out of town. I told him we had plans tonight, and he says if you don't want to do it he can try to find a babysitter, but since it's so late he doesn't know if he can."

Kagome looked away, biting her lip. "He'll never be able to find a babysitter now. I suppose we could just have our date another night, couldn't we?"

He smiled softly. "Of course we can." He pulled out his phone and headed out of the room to call Sesshoumaru. Kagome watched him leave and pouted for a moment. Damn Sesshoumaru. She went into her room to change into jeans, hanging her skirt back up. With a sigh she fell back on her bed and opened her book back up.

She heard the doorbell about twenty minutes later, but didn't move. After a moment, the door was opened a crack and Shippou stuck his head inside. "Are you sleeping?"

Kagome sat up. "Hey there, Ship. No, I was just reading for a minute." She put the book down and scooped him up. "And how have you been?"

"Good. We ate dinner already. Did you eat dinner?" She shook her head. "You must be hungry. I was so hungry before dinner, but we had chicken and noodles." Kagome went into the living room and deposited Shippou on the couch next to his sister.

Sesshoumaru walked over. "Thank you, Kagome."

She gave him a steady look. "You're welcome." She took the bag with Rin and Shippou's clothes from him and went to put it in her room.

Sesshoumaru turned to Inuyasha. "I think she's actually mad at me." Inuyasha didn't answer. "Are you mad at me, too?" He gave Inuyasha a knowing look, said goodbye to his children, and left.

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Kagome tucked Shippou into bed and helped Rin climb up next to him. "Why do we have to go to bed? I'm not tired yet."

"Because I'm tired, and I want to go to bed, that's why." Rin sighed and snuggled into the blankets. Kagome smoothed Rin's hair away from her face. "Now close your eyes."

"Can we get a story?" Shipou asked.

"I don't know …" She sighed. "What kind of story do you want to hear about?"

"A love story." Rin said. Shippou grimaced.

"Alright. Once upon a time there was a young woman."

"Was she a princess?"

"No, she was just an ordinary woman. But she was very poor, so she was working as a waitress in a restaurant. And every day, there was a man who would come in for lunch. And she thought that he was the most handsome man she had ever seen."

"Was he a pirate?" Shippou asked. "I like pirates."

"No, he wasn't a pirate. He was a doctor." Shippou frowned. "Anyway, the young woman loved this man, from the moment she had first seen him, but she had never actually met him. So she used dream about one day meeting him and telling him that she loved him. Then, one day, there was a major accident outside the restaurant, and a truck was sliding across the road straight toward the window by where the young woman was standing. And what do you think happened?"

"He saved her!"

"You're right! He saved her! The man jumped out of his seat and pulled the young woman to safety. Then, he told her that he thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world, and that he kept coming to that restaurant for lunch just so that he could see her, but he was too afraid to talk to her."

"And then did they live happily ever after?"

"They did for a little while, yes. They were very happy."

"Who were they?"

Kagome smiled. "They were my parents. Now go to sleep." She waited a minute to make sure that they had both closed their eyes, then got up and walked to the door, turning off the light as she went.

"Aunt Kagome?" She turned back toward the bed. "Do you miss your parents?"

She nodded. "Sometimes." Rin thought for a minute, then closed her eyes again and went to sleep.

Kagome went out into the living room and sat next to Inuyasha on the couch. She took the remote from him and turned the TV off. He gave her a surprised look. "What's up?"

She shrugged. "I don't know." She leaned against his shoulder. "Cheer me up."

"Cheer you up? How can I cheer you up if I don't know what's wrong?" He put his arm around her shoulders.

"Just … sit with me."

Inuyasha bit his lip. "Ok. I can do that."

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"Thanks again for watching them, Kagome."

She smiled. "You're welcome. You have tomorrow off, right?" He nodded. Kagome turned to the kids. "Do you guys have all your stuff?" They handed Sesshoumaru their bag and waved goodbye to Kagome as they left.

Kagome sighed as the door shut, and went into the kitchen to get a drink. She heard Inuyasha come into the room behind her and turned to look at him. His face was serious. "Is something wrong?"

"Kagome, I need to talk to you."

"What?"

"There's something that I need to tell you."

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AN: BWA HAHAHA CLIFF HANGER!! Because that's just how I roll.

Thanks to everybody for reviewing, and keep reading! I'll try to update soon!


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

**Disclaimer: So I just tried out Nanowrimo last month, which if you don't know is when you try to write a 50K novel in a month. I didn't start until Nov. 23, but I still managed to write over 30K, so I was pretty proud of myself.**

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Kagome sighed as the door shut, and went into the kitchen to get a drink. She heard Inuyasha come into the room behind her and turned to look at him. His face was serious. "Is something wrong?"

"Kagome, I need to talk to you."

"What?"

"There's something that I need to tell you."

She looked at him in surprise, a worried look on her face. "Is there something wrong?"

He stared at her for a long moment. "I don't know if we're going to be able to live together anymore."

Kagome's face fell. "Why … why not?"

"I can't live with you like this."

She nodded. "Alright. I guess … I guess I can go, if you want me to." She looked up at him with a sad expression on her face.

Suddenly he crossed the room towards her. He grabbed her around the waist with one hand, pulling her tight against him. He slipped his other hand behind her neck and tipped her face up. Then he was kissing her.

Kagome put her hands up to push him away, but couldn't make herself actually do it. He pulled away from her a moment later, and she stared up at him breathlessly. "Why did you do that?"

Inuyasha still held her tightly. "I have wanted to do that for a very long time now," he whispered. Kagome's eyes grew wide. "I can't stand living with you here the way we have been, Kagome. Being this close to you, but not being able to touch you, not being able to kiss you … I can't go on like this anymore." He pushed himself away. "I can't even think when you're around."

Kagome held her breath. "What exactly are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I love you." Kagome closed her eyes, biting her lip. "I have loved you for so long, I couldn't go any longer without telling you." He turned away from her, running his hand through his hair. "You're so young, though, I don't want to hurt you."

She took a deep, steadying breath and let it out slowly. "Just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm a child." He turned towards her slightly, looking at her over his shoulder with a hopeful look, but not making any move toward her. She reached out to him. "Inuyasha-"

And then suddenly he was kissing her again, passionately. Kagome's arms snaked around his neck, pulling him down closer to her. When they finally broke apart, Inuyasha stroked her cheek with one finger. "When you left, it broke my heart. I thought I was going to die without you."

Kagome leaned against him, just happy to be in his arms. "I'll never leave you again," she said. "I promise."

Inuyasha looked down at her and grinned. "Say it."

She blushed. "I love you."

He kissed her again. "That's all I wanted to hear."

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Kagome looked at her tiles, frowning. "I have the worst letters ever." She rearranged them again. Suddenly she smiled. "Wait, no I think I've got a word."

She heard the door opening as she placed her letters. "Oxidizes. With the x on a triple letter score and it's on a triple word …"

"I thought you said you had the worst letters ever!" Miroku protested. Kagome laughed.

Inuyasha came in and looked down on the board. "Who's winning?"

"Kagome's cheating!" Miroku peered intently at his tiles as Inuyasha sat down next to Kagome, giving her a quick kiss. Miroku's head snapped back up. "I saw that."

"You saw what?" Kagome asked innocently. Inuyasha gave him a confused look.

"You two. I saw that."

She frowned. "Did … did it look something like this?" Kagome leaned over to Inuyasha, wrapped her arms around him and started kissing him. He just pulled her up into his lap and kissed her back.

Miroku's jaw dropped. "What? When did you …" He drifted off, staring.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Miroku frowned at Inuyasha, then pulled out his phone and snapped a photo. Inuyasha glared at him. "Hey! I was not serious! Give me that!" He reached for it, but Miroku pulled away.

"Just let me send it to Sango … sending … sending … ok, you can have it." He tossed the phone to Kagome, and she looked at the photo, then made a face, erasing it.

"I am so not photogenic." She moved off Inuyasha's lap and shrugged. "Anyway, it's your turn."

Miroku looked between the two of them for a moment. Then he turned back to his tiles. He placed a couple down on the board. "Cats."

Inuyasha looked at the board. "No offense, but I think you're losing."

He rolled his eyes. "Thanks, I hadn't realized."

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AN: Yeah, this chapter is really short, and I apologize. It's been hectic here, and I wanted to get something out, because it's been a long time since I updated. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and all the new favorite stories that I've gotten. I really appreciate it! And Happy Holidays to everyone! 3


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

**Disclaimer: I just want to apologize to everyone about taking so long to write up this chapter. I know I left off at a decent spot, no cliffy or anything, but I still feel bad about how long it's been. I've just been crazy busy at school!**

**Anyway, here's the chapter!**

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Sesshoumaru answered the phone with a frown. "Yes?"

"He's here again. He says he won't leave until he gets a chance to talk to you. He says its important."

"I'll be there in half an hour." He hung up the phone glared at it for a moment. He had just tried to take a vacation, just a couple of days away from work, give Kagome a break from watching the kids, and what happens? Someone goes looking for him. Every day. And never leaves.

He got the kids all set to go and shipped them off to Inuyasha's apartment. Kagome looked surprised to see them, but her smile was real. Shippou ran over and pounced on Miroku, who was taking a nap on the couch. "I thought he moved in with Sango," Sesshoumaru said quietly.

Kagome laughed. "It's actually the first time I've seen him in about a week. He doesn't come over as much, especially now that he's working." She shrugged. "I like the company. But I shouldn't hold you up if you have to go to work. Just give me a call later if you want me to make them dinner."

Sesshoumaru left with a nod and drove quickly to the station. Someone met him at the door. "He's in your office. He said he'd wait until you got back, and when I told him you were on vacation he said he'd wait anyway." The officer shook his head. "It's must be important."

Sesshoumaru walked to his office without replying. He went in and sat down behind his desk without even looking to see who was there. When he finally looked up, he froze. "Can I help you?"

"I need you to tell me where my sister is," Souta Higurashi said simply.

"If I recall correctly, your sister has been missing for some time now, and it's been a while since I've had any new leads on her whereabouts."

Souta nodded. "Yes, of course. But you know where she is, and I need you to either tell me or take me to her." Sesshoumaru opened his mouth to speak, but Souta cut him off. "When Kagome came home, you took her away again. She knew you. She called you by your first name. You knew which coat was hers in the closet without having to ask. You had to tell her that you had gotten a new car because she wouldn't have recognized it. You know my sister very well, I think. And I need to know where you brought her once you took her away."

Sesshoumaru looked up to see the officer standing in the doorway, gaping. He gave him a look and he backed out quickly, shutting the door behind him. "Even if what you are saying is true, and I did know the whereabouts of your sister, why should I take you to her?"

Suddenly Souta smiled. "I have news."

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They were playing Chutes and Ladders when the doorbell rang. Miroku finished moving his piece, standing up even as he counted. "…four, five … I'll go get it. It's your turn, Kitten."

He headed out and Kagome grabbed the die. "Three!" She started moving her piece. "One … two … three! Oh no!" She landed at the top of the highest ladder. Shippou and Rin laughed at her as she slid her piece back to the bottom of the board. She had been winning for a while.

"It's Sesshoumaru!" Miroku said, walking back into the room.

"I didn't expect you to be back so soon," Kagome called out to him. She turned to Rin. "I'll just slide this out of the way and then we can finish playing next time you're here."

Rin nodded. "Hi, Daddy! I'm winning now! Who's that?"

Kagome looked up and her jaw dropped. Sesshoumaru was standing in the living room, Souta at his side. "Souta? What … what are you doing … why are you here?" Her eyes flickered back and forth between Sesshoumaru and her brother. She stood up slowly and walked towards him.

"Mom is dead." Everyone in the room froze.

"What? What do you mean, she's dead?"

"She was driving drunk again a few days ago and crashed her car into a tree. They put her in the hospital, but she died this morning." Kagome crossed the room and stood next to him, in shock. Sesshoumaru discretely backed away, signaling for Rin and Shippou to come.

"What are you going to do," Kagome asked.

Souta shrugged. "They called Grandpa. He's coming up to get me."

"Grandpa's dead."

He shook his head. "No, he's not. She just … she lied to us."

Kagome took a few deep breaths, and then she started to cry, her hands over her face. Souta looked frightened, unsure what to do, and when he turned to Sesshoumaru for help, Sesshoumaru just shook his head firmly. After a quick hesitation, Miroku stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her awkwardly, patting her back. "It's ok, Kitten, it's ok." Her crying didn't slow, and Miroku appealed to Sesshoumaru silently. Then he saw the door open and relief filled his face.

Inuyasha walked in, took one look at everyone, and pulled Kagome away from Miroku, holding her tightly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. "When did you get home?" she murmured, still crying.

He rubbed her back soothingly. "Just now." He looked at Miroku with a question in his eyes.

Miroku mouthed the words 'her mom' and then ran one finger across his neck, sticking out his tongue. Sesshoumaru scowled at him, but Inuyasha just smiled slightly. He pointed at Souta and Miroku shrugged. Sesshoumaru pointed at Kagome, and Inuyasha's eyes widened.

Miroku looked between and Souta a few times. "Oh my god! It is you! Your picture's on the fridge!"

"How?"

Kagome suddenly started to laugh. "We stole the picture from the police file," Inuyasha said.

"You didn't steal it," Sesshoumaru corrected, "I just happened to lose it from the folder somehow." He sighed. "His grandfather will be coming to pick him up."

"Give him my address," Inuyasha said.

He nodded. "Rin, Shippou, come on." They started to gather their stuff and head towards the door. Suddenly, Rin dropped everything and ran over and wrapped her arms around Kagome.

"It's ok, Aunt Kagome. It's ok to cry." She squeezed her tightly. "I still miss my mom."

Kagome pulled away from Inuyasha and knelt down to give Rin a hug. "Thank you, Rin." They left and Kagome sat there for a moment, then ran off into the bathroom.

"Are you alright?" Inuyasha shouted to her.

"I'll be out in a minute."

He turned back to Souta and Miroku. "What just happened?"

Miroku shrugged. "We were playing Chutes and Ladders and then the doorbell rang and it was Sesshoumaru so I let him in, and then this kid was here, too, and he said that their mom was in an accident and died and then she started crying and I was trying to calm her down and it wasn't working and Sesshoumaru was laughing at me and then you came home and saved the day, as usual."

"Sesshoumaru never laughs."

"Well, he was laughing on the inside!"

Kagome came back out then, walking slowly, her face red from crying. She sniffled once and then pointed at Souta. "This is my brother. Souta, this is Inuyasha and Miroku."

"She called you Aunt Kagome." He looked back and forth between Inuyasha and Miroku, finally settling on Inuyasha and giving him an odd look. "Are you married?" Kagome sat down on the couch, shaking her head. Souta sat down next to her, looking around. "This is a nice place. I'm glad you're living in a nice place."

"I can't believe Grandpa is alive! I can't believe she lied to us about that!"

Inuyasha leaned closer to Miroku and whispered, "I'm just glad she's dead." Miroku nodded emphatically, then looked up to see Kagome and Souta glaring at him. He pointed at Inuyasha.

He shrugged. "I'll never forgive her for hurting you."

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They spent the evening together, just talking, not about their mother, but about anything that came to mind. Miroku and Inuyasha just sat back, not really joining in on the conversation. When their grandfather arrived, he immediately seemed to sense that Inuyasha and Kagome were a couple, and started sizing him up. He passed.

He left after a while, taking Souta with him, and Miroku left as well, leaving Kagome and Inuyasha home alone. They curled up on the couch, not talking, just sitting together in silence.

"I'm sorry," Inuyasha said finally.

She shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'm … I feel awful about it, but I'm really not that sad that she's gone. Not right now. I'm glad that Souta is safe now. And I won't have to see her again. I'm just upset. I can't believe she lied to us." She curled up tighter against his side.

"Thank you for being here."

Inuyasha leaned his chin on top of her head. "You're welcome."

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AN: Ok, end of the chapter!! It's a kinda depressing one, sorta, and sorta not … but hopefully the next one will be more cheerful. I wouldn't expect it too soon, though, because I don't know when I'll get another chance to update. Busy, busy, busy!!! Thanks to everyone who reviewed!!


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